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Amazon Prime Day has evolved into one of the most influential retail events of the year. Originally launched in 2015 to celebrate Amazon’s anniversary, it has grown into a global shopping festival that rivals Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2024 alone, Prime Day drove over $14.2 billion in sales in the United States. With Amazon expected to expand Prime Day to a four-day event in 2025 for its 10th anniversary, sellers now face the longest and most complex version of Prime Day yet.
This added time presents both a challenge and an opportunity. On one hand, it extends the window for promotions and customer engagement. On the other, it increases the competition, noise, and complexity of campaign execution. Without a clear, well-thought-out strategy, brands risk getting lost in a sea of discounts, failing to capture attention, or burning through budget without generating a return.
Brands that win on Prime Day are those that treat it like a product launch — not just a flash sale. They plan for it months in advance, analyze performance from past years, build anticipation before the event starts, and extend their impact even after it ends. From pricing strategy and creative assets to ad budgeting and traffic sources, every decision must be intentional. Prime Day is no longer about showing up — it’s about showing up smarter.
If you’ve participated in previous Prime Days, you already have one of the most powerful assets available: your own performance data. Yet, too many sellers fail to analyze or apply that data effectively. Reviewing your historical metrics can uncover valuable insights about what campaigns resonated with customers, which ASINs drove the most sales, where your ad spend was most effective, and how your pricing impacted conversion.
Start by identifying patterns across past events. Were your best-sellers consistent year over year? Did some products experience high traffic but low conversions, suggesting a disconnect in product detail pages or pricing? Did your advertising campaigns perform better at certain times of day or with specific targeting strategies? Are there seasonal shifts in your category you need to account for?
Beyond your internal data, leverage category-wide benchmarks and third-party tools to understand where you stand in the market. How did your performance compare to similar brands? Which keywords drove visibility, and which ones failed to convert?
Using these insights, you can build a clear roadmap for 2025. Determine your product focus, pricing strategy, inventory needs, and ad spend allocation well ahead of time. Test messaging and creative elements early so that you know what resonates with your audience. With this kind of proactive, data-backed strategy, you can enter Prime Day with confidence instead of scrambling at the last minute.
Timing is everything on Prime Day. But success doesn’t begin when the sale goes live — it starts long before that. In the weeks leading up to Prime Day, shopper activity on Amazon begins to climb. Research behavior increases, wishlists fill up, and browsing activity spikes across top categories. In fact, internal data shows that in categories like Home and Kitchen, traffic increased by 66% the week before Prime Day. This pre-sale period represents a golden opportunity for brands to build visibility and create demand.
But traffic alone doesn’t guarantee sales. Conversions tend to lag behind until the event officially kicks off, when Prime members feel the urgency to act. That’s when conversion rates often soar — we’ve seen increases of over 65% during Prime Week compared to normal periods. Yet, the spike is short-lived. After the event ends, conversions can plummet quickly, and shoppers move on.
What does this mean for your strategy? You need to start engaging your audience early, optimizing your product listings, running awareness campaigns, and building retargeting lists well before Prime Day starts. Make sure your images are polished, your bullet points are clear, and your reviews are strong. Use pre-Prime Day promotions and advertising to warm up potential customers, so that when the sale begins, they’re ready to convert.
And remember, Prime Day isn’t a single moment — it’s a multi-phase event. Brands that align their marketing and budget pacing with these phases stand the best chance of capturing shopper interest and sustaining momentum.
Understanding traffic sources is essential to optimizing your Prime Day presence. While most people assume all Prime Day traffic comes from within Amazon, the truth is more nuanced. About 82% of Prime Day traffic typically originates from internal Amazon placements — think deal pages, category hubs, Amazon search, and brand stores. These are shoppers who are already in the Amazon ecosystem and actively looking for deals. Capturing their attention requires high-quality listings, strong placement, and effective bidding strategies.
However, the other 18% of traffic comes from outside of Amazon — and this external traffic can be even more valuable. External sources include influencer content, affiliate marketing, social media campaigns, email promotions, and even paid search. These channels allow you to generate awareness before customers arrive at Amazon and often deliver higher intent shoppers.
For example, a TikTok creator reviewing your product a week before Prime Day can spark interest that leads to a search and purchase during the event. Similarly, email subscribers who receive your custom Prime Day promo offers are more likely to click through and convert. These strategies help you build anticipation, control your brand narrative, and reduce reliance on internal Amazon ads alone.
Furthermore, Amazon rewards sellers who bring in external traffic through programs like Amazon Attribution and the Brand Referral Bonus. Not only can this lower your cost-per-acquisition, but it also boosts your rankings and conversion rates. If you’re not already integrating external traffic into your Prime Day plan, now’s the time to start.
Prime Day shoppers are deal-driven, but not all deals are created equal. There are several promotional tools available to sellers: Lightning Deals, Best Deals, Coupons, and Prime Exclusive Discounts. Each has different costs, visibility potential, and performance expectations.
Prime Exclusive Discounts tend to perform best during Prime Day itself, offering competitive pricing that stands out in search results and deal pages. Best Deals work well in the lead-up to the event and can build early traction. Lightning Deals create urgency with limited-time offers but require strict inventory and pricing thresholds. Coupons are easy to apply but often yield mixed results — especially if overused or poorly timed.
Some brands try to run multiple promotions on the same product, hoping for maximum exposure. However, this can create confusion and dilute your brand value. Customers may question why there are three overlapping discounts on a single item. A more effective approach is to be strategic: choose your top products and assign the promotion type that best fits your timing, goals, and margin tolerance.
Keep in mind that Amazon charges fees for certain deal types, and deep discounts don’t always yield long-term gains. Focus on promotions that align with your business objectives. Are you trying to move excess inventory? Launch a new product? Acquire reviews? Each goal may require a different promotion structure. Monitor your performance closely and be ready to pivot if something isn’t working.
One of the most overlooked aspects of Prime Day strategy is how you allocate your advertising and promotion budget. Many brands make the mistake of spending too much too early, especially in June, and run out of resources before the Prime Day peak. Others wait too long to activate campaigns and miss the opportunity to build momentum.
A balanced approach is critical. Consider allocating 25% of your Prime Day advertising and promotional budget in June to prepare your audience, test creative, and identify your top-performing keywords and ASINs. Use this time to run awareness campaigns and build remarketing lists. Allocate about 50% of your budget for Prime Week itself, focusing heavily on high-converting ad placements and promotional pushes during the busiest days. Reserve the final 25% for post-Prime Day retargeting and evergreen campaigns to keep your momentum going and drive repeat purchases.
Additionally, don’t just set your daily budget and walk away. Monitor performance hour-by-hour and adjust bids based on what’s working. If your ads are exhausting the budget too early in the day, you may miss peak evening traffic. Use dynamic bidding strategies to stay competitive without overspending.
Ultimately, your budget should be guided by your objectives, historical data, and real-time performance. Prime Day isn’t just about spending more — it’s about spending smarter.
Prime Day is no longer a one-day sprint — it’s a weeks-long marathon that demands thoughtful planning, agile execution, and smart investments. The brands that win aren’t just offering the biggest discounts. They’re aligning their strategy across all customer touchpoints, leveraging data to inform every decision, and creating seamless experiences that turn traffic into loyal customers.
Whether this is your first Prime Day or your tenth, the key to success is simple: prepare early, think holistically, and act strategically. With the right roadmap, your brand can turn Prime Day into more than just a spike in sales — it can become a springboard for long-term growth.
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