Amazon Prime Day skirts inflation
The buying spree comes as consumer prices rose 9.1% in June from a year ago
JMP Securities internet equity research analyst Nick Jones and Kearney Consumer Institute lead Katie Thomas discuss how inflation could affect the annual big deal event on 'The Claman Countdown.'
Amazon experienced its biggest Prime Day event in history this week despite the continuing threat of soaring inflation.
According to the e-commerce behemoth, Prime members purchased more than 300 million items worldwide during this year's two-day event, saving a record $1.7 billion. Customers spent over $3 billion on more than 100 million small business items. The company did not disclose the event's total sales.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 214.10 | +5.15 | +2.46% |
| APPL | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| LEVI | LEVI STRAUSS & CO. | 16.98 | +0.12 | +0.71% |
"Prime Day is a celebration of our Prime members, who look forward to this event every year, and we’re thrilled to have delivered incredible savings to them once again," Amazon Worldwide Stores CEO Doug Herrington said in a statement.
WHOLESALE INFLATION SURGES 11.3% IN JUNE, ACCELERATING MORE THAN EXPECTED
The top-selling categories in the U.S. during Prime Day were consumer electronics, household essentials and home. The best-selling items in the U.S. during Prime Day included:
- Fire TV, Echo, and Blink devices
- LANEIGE and NuFACE beauty brands
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Crest Teeth Whitening and Oral-B electric toothbrushes
- Kids' and baby clothing from Simple Joys by Carter’s
- Bentgo Kids lunch boxes
- Levi's apparel and accessories
- Shark vacuums, air purifiers and steam mops
- Beats by Dre headphones and earbuds
- Coleman, Marmot, and ExOfficio outdoor gear and apparel
- Construction toys including LEGO sets, Magna-Tiles, and PLAYMOBIL
According to a survey of 21,306 households and 4,847 verified Prime Day buyers by data and tech firm Numerator, 83% of shoppers said inflation and rising prices influenced their purchases. About 34% said they waited until Prime Day sales to make a purchase and 28% passed on a good deal because it wasn't a necessity.
Inflation also drove 22% of those surveyed to look at prices outside of Amazon before buying. Of those who shopped during both this year's and last year's Prime Day, 35% spent more this year while 65% spent the same or less.
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On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 9.1% in June from a year ago — the fastest pace of inflation since November 1981. Prices jumped 1.3% from May.
Those figures were both far higher than the 8.8% headline figure and 1% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists. Categories with the largest price increases during the month included energy, food, cars, rent, appliances and households goods and travel and transportation.
In June, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 75-basis points for the first time in nearly three decades in an effort to bring inflation down. A basis point equals one hundredth of one percent. Several policymakers have come out in favor of a similarly sized increase is on the table in July.