Dive Brief:
- Amazon is offering pre-Black Friday discounts on products from brands like Lancôme, Lego, Peloton and Yeti starting on Nov. 17 and running through Nov. 27, the e-commerce giant announced on Monday.
- Shoppers can receive personalized discount notifications via Alexa up to 24 hours in advance on eligible items within their Wish List, Carts or Save For Later lists. Shoppers can ask Alexa to make a purchase when a deal is available using the prompt “Alexa, buy it for me.”
- Amazon is also showcasing new deals during the first Black Friday NFL game on Prime Video on Nov. 24. Viewers can see deals from brands like Dyson and TCL during the match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, per the press release.
Dive Insight:
Amazon is extending its pre-Black Friday deals following a successful holiday sales event last month. The company said its Prime Big Deal Days sale in October resulted in “hundreds of millions of items sold.” It did not release specific sales numbers, but did say that Prime members ordered more than 150 million products from independent merchants on its platform.
During the company’s Q3 earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy said the event was Amazon’s “most successful October holiday kick-off event ever,” with Prime members saving over $1 billion.
For the quarter, Amazon retailer said its online sales rose 7.1% to $57.3 billion, while physical store sales were up 5.6% to $5 billion. Product sales saw a 6.5% bump year over year to $63.2 billion, according to its Q3 earnings report. Aside from its retail-related gains, the retailer attributed its successful quarter to its non-retail businesses.
Meanwhile, other major retailers have been vying for consumer dollars well before Black Friday. Walmart recently unveiled its “Mean Girls”-themed Black Friday deals ad to promote its in-store events on Nov. 10 and Nov. 24, with online access on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22. Target last month also introduced its early holiday discounts that roll out weekly through Thanksgiving weekend.
