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So much for concerns that the second PrimeDay event didn't live up to Amazon's expectations.
The online retailer said Wednesday that the self-created holiday was its biggest sales day ever, with worldwide orders rising more than 60 percent compared with the previous Prime Day. In the U.S.,orders rose by more than 50 percent.
The company declined to share how many people signed up for Prime to participate in the sale. To qualify for the sales event, which was created last year to celebrate Amazon's 20th birthday,shoppers need to be members of the service.
Amazon shares were roughly flat, near $747,in late morning trading Wednesday.
The retailer's shares ended the prior dayslightly lower following concerns over a midday sales update from Channel Advisor. The e-commerce software company, which helps power the online operations of roughly 3,000 retailers, said Prime Day sales for its customers selling on Amazon were flat with the prior year's event.
But Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munstercautioned investors about overreacting to that data point, as Channel Advisor's numbers represent just a sample of Amazon's sellers, he said. He added that the figures only capture same-store sales trends; and given that the number of vendors participating in Prime Day was more than double the prior year, they did not capture the complete picture.
Meanwhile, Amazon spread out its deals further into the day, including more than 800 of its limited-time"Lightning Deals" launching well into the evening. The retailer said Prime members saved more than double the amount they did last Prime Day — and it is already working to amp them up for next year's event.
"After yesterday's results, we'll definitely be doing this again," Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime, said in a press release announcing the results.
On its inaugural Prime Day, Amazon sold more units than it did on the previous Black Friday, which at the time was its largest sales day ever. The company did not provide an explicit sales forecast for this year's event, but said it anticipated the "record-breaking"day it received.
Other retailers hoped to capitalize on Prime Day's buzz by launching their own promotions. That includes Wal-Mart,which eliminated its $50 free shipping minimum this week. But the world's largest retailer was mum on Tuesday's results.
"While we aren't breaking out sales or providing updates outside of quarterly earnings, I can tell you millions of customers have been saving all month long on Walmart.com. Yesterday was no exception," Wal-Mart spokesman Ravi Jariwala said in a statement to CNBC.
Though analysts predicted other retailers would once again see a lift in traffic on Prime Day, Steve Osburn, a directorat Kurt Salmon, said competitors' deals didn't stack up.
"They don't have nearly the product availability," he said.
Amazon sold more than 90,000 TVs and more than two million toys on Prime Day, the company said. Ordering on its mobile app also accelerated compared with the prior year, increasing more than twotimes among Prime members.
But the day was not without speed bumps. Just a few hours into the sale, Amazon shoppers reported issues adding items to
their digital shopping carts. The problem was resolved a few hours later. Amazon would not comment on whether that hiccup caused it lose out on sales.
The retailer's July sales event is about more than generating revenue in an otherwise slow shopping month. The bigger goal is to encourage shoppers to sign up for a Prime subscription, which offers free two-day shipping and other perks for members. A monthly membership costs$10.99; an annual membership is $99. Last year's event led to more people trying Prime than any day in the site's history, Amazon said.
By getting shoppers to enroll in this service, it encourages them to spend more money with Amazon. Whereas Prime members spend an estimated $1,200 a year on Amazon, non-members spend roughly $500, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Once Amazon persuades shoppers to sign upfor the service, they tend to be loyal. Separate data from CIRP has found that people who sign up for a free 30-day trial are converted into paying members 73 percent of the time. And after one year, 91 percent of members renew for asecond.
As the pool of Prime members grows,however, it will be increasingly difficult for it to attract new signups. Amazon does not specify the number of Prime members, but CIRP estimates roughly 63 million people in the U.S. are part of the program. A separate estimate from Cowen & Co. analyst John Blackledge pins the figure at closer to 45million.
Both firms estimate that Prime shoppersaccount for roughly half of Amazon's purchases.
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