Amazon Prime Day attracted many early holiday shoppers

Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday season, is more than a month away, but Amazon Prime Day — delayed until Oct. 13-14 — got at least some shoppers to get a head start. Nearly 30% of people who shopped at Amazon on Prime Day purchased holiday gifts, according to a report from Chicago-based research firm Numerator.

“Amazon’s strategy to hold Prime Day as a precursor to the holiday shopping season seems to have paid off. … While most Prime Day buyers still plan to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they plan to spend less than last year,” Numerator analyst Amanda Schoenbauer said in an emailed statement.

Amazon said people spent more than $3.5 billion at third-party sellers worldwide, up nearly 60% from last year, but did not say how much consumers spent in total. One estimate said the company could see sales of close to $10 billion from the event.

Rival retailers offered their own promotions, including Walmart, Best Buy and Target.

Here’s a look at what people shopped for at Amazon on Prime Day, and why, based on Numerator’s data from consumer orders and surveys:

■ The average Amazon order was $44.21, down from $59.02 on Prime Day 2019, and included 1.6 items. Average household spending, $110.02, declined as well, but that figure is expected to increase, since Numerator collects receipts from shoppers forup to twoweeks.

■ Of the 29% of people who bought holiday gifts, 25% said they knocked out at least half their holiday shopping. Still, most are still shopping: 80% and 88% of Prime Day buyers expected to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, respectively.

■ 17% of Prime Day shoppers said they expect to spend less on Black Friday and Cyber Monday because of their Prime Day purchases.

■ About 62% of people shopped for themselves or their household.

■ Only 52% bought something that was part of a Prime Day deal.

■ 21% of Prime Day shoppers also bought something fromanother retailer.

■ Like last year, the most popular items all came from Amazon: the Echo Dot smart speaker, Amazon Smart Plug, Fire TV Stick, Echo Show and either new or reloaded gift cards. Nearly one in three Prime Day shoppers bought Amazon-branded electronics, which tend to be discounted on Prime Day. The iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, My Q Wireless & WiFi Enabled Smart Garage Door Opener, Life Straw Personal Water Filter, Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Vitamins, and Kids Against Maturity card game were other popular deals in the U.S., according to Amazon.

■ Household essentials, health and beauty products, toys and video games, and home and garden products were also popular. Items in each of those categories were bought by at least 1 in 5 shoppers.