In a play to dominate even more of the shopping calendar, Amazon launched its first annual Big Spring Sale. The retailers’ latest sale ran from March 20 to March 25. With its 2023 Prime Days sale reaching unprecedented consumer participation and sales, the Big Spring Sale was expected to generate substantial eCommerce traffic to close out 2024’s first quarter. However, PYMNTS Intelligence data finds that this sale fell short of these expectations in some metrics.
What’s at Stake
Prime Days sales from 2021 through 2023 drew in a solid 36% to 40% of U.S. shoppers. The Amazon Big Spring Sale did not match this engagement, with just 28% of consumers shopping this sale. This 29% drop spells bad news, with data suggesting consumers are growing tired of sales year-round. Most consumers not participating in the Big Spring Sale reported that disinterest or financial issues were the primary reasons why.
For “Amazon First Annual Big Spring Sale: A Sale Too Many?” we surveyed 7,426 U.S. consumers from March 25 through March 27. The survey explored how shoppers engaged with Amazon’s first annual Big Spring Sale. PYMNTS Intelligence has tracked significant sales events for Amazon and Walmart since 2021, providing us with valuable insight and perspective into the most recent developments.
Key Findings
Twenty-eight percent of U.S. consumers shopped during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. This share is a 29% drop from Amazon’s last major sales event, despite being the giant’s first open to non-subscribers.
Big Spring Sale engagement was highest among loyal Amazon Prime subscribers, with 38% of subscribers shopping during the sale. Though the eCommerce kingpin opened this sale to the general public, just 9% of consumers not subscribed to Prime participated. This low share suggests the retailer did not do enough to attract new customers. Prime nonmembers make up the minority, given that nearly two-thirds, or 66%, of shoppers are members. Demographic trends revealed that, regardless of Prime membership status, higher-income consumers are more likely to have shopped the sale. Thirty-three percent of consumers annually earning more than $100,000 led the way. Millennials and Gen Z shoppers were also drawn in more than older generations, with 40% and 32% participating, respectively.
Participants in the Big Spring Sale bought less than those in the most recent Prime Days sale. They also gravitated toward smaller ticket items.
On average, Amazon Big Spring Sale shoppers bought six items throughout the sale period. This amount is one less than usually bought during the last Prime week sale. Not only did shoppers buy fewer items, but they were less likely to buy big-ticket items such as home appliances, electronics and furniture. Instead, consumers focused on daily use items, buying clothing, accessories, beauty products and health products more than at the Prime Days sale. Thus, consumers bought smaller items they regularly need but did not have the same appetite for blowout purchases. With consumers buying fewer and cheaper items, the amount spent at this sale took a hit. Consumers spent, on average, 32% less at the Big Spring Sale than at the last Prime Days sale.
Insufficient marketing, consumer disinterest and financial constraints were the biggest blows to consumer participation in the Amazon Big Spring Sale.
Data suggests that marketing played a notable role in the lack of consumer participation. Forty-two percent of consumers who did not shop during the sale had no idea it was happening. Forty-five percent of consumer respondents who do not subscribe to Amazon Prime had not heard of the Big Spring Sale. Although one would assume Prime subscribers would be more in the know, 40% of Prime members who did not participate still had no clue the sale occurred. Given higher-income consumers’ relatively high participation in this and other Amazon sales events, it is notable that higher-income consumers were the least likely to be aware of this sale. Forty-six percent who did not participate had never heard of it, compared to just 38% of consumers annually earning less than $50,000.
More than 1 in 5 consumers who did not participate in the Amazon Big Spring Sale reported financial constraints such as wanting to save money or not being able to afford purchases as reasons why. Low-income shoppers were the top demographic to cite financial concerns. Still, 16% of high-income consumers opted to avoid the sale to save money. Perceived inflation also played a role in consumer hesitance to spend at the Amazon Big Spring Sale, with shoppers 29% less likely to buy an item they had wanted simply due to discounts and consumers 53% more likely not to buy because they thought prices were too high.
Is sales fatigue the new March Madness?
Nearly 3 in 10 consumers who opted not to participate in the Amazon Big Spring Sale had nothing they wanted to buy. This suggests that Amazon’s current sales calendar had been meeting their needs. The drop in buying large-ticket items compared to previous events suggests that consumers usually see these events as opportunities to get good deals on big-ticket items. Yet, the unusual March timing of this sale meant they may not have been ready or prepared to pull the trigger on these large purchases in the same way that they might for Black Friday or the Prime Day summer sales. Nearly 22% of consumers who did not participate said the top reason was because they could not afford to or were otherwise financially limited.
Shoppers came for the sale and stayed for the Prime membership. Nearly one-quarter of participants got a Prime membership to access better discounts at the Big Spring Sale.
Amazon’s success in establishing Prime Days should not detract from the reality that the Big Spring Sale impacted participants and boosted Prime membership. The sale boosted customer loyalty, with 27% of participants reporting the sale made them more loyal to Amazon. Non-Prime members were drawn in by more attractive member discounts, with 23% subscribing to Prime for better savings. Those who subscribed for the added savings are here to stay. Ninety percent of this group plan to maintain their Prime membership moving forward. The sale also attracted consumers from Amazon’s competitors. Thirty-four percent of participants elected to shop at Amazon over the competition due to lower prices.
Consumers also noted potential negative impacts, as 10% felt the savings led them to spend too much. Also, 6.7% felt pressured to buy things they didn’t want. Overall, though total shopping numbers may have been a letdown compared to previous events, Amazon’s first annual Big Spring Sale did foster customer engagement and loyalty.
Methodology
“Amazon’s First Annual Big Spring Sale: A Sale Too Many?, a PYMNTS Intelligence report, is based on a census-balanced survey of 7,426 U.S. consumers from March 25 through March 27. The survey explored how shoppers engaged with Amazon’s first annual Big Spring Sale. Our sample was balanced to match the U.S. adult population in a set of key demographic variables: 51% of respondents identified as female, 33% had a college degree, 38% annually earned more than $100,000 and 28% were millennials.
For more on Amazon, read the March 2024 “Whole Paycheck Report” and other previous PYMNTS Intelligence reports.
