It’s exciting to see small businesses gearing up for this year's Prime Day— a two-day parade of epic deals on July 15 and 16 — when shoppers worldwide will visit our online stores for over one million deals.
Small business is part of Amazon’s DNA. More than half of the items sold in our stores are from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs.) And customers love it – these SMBs increase variety, selection, and contribute to the ever-expanding inventory available to Prime members worldwide. Prime members who love supporting innovators, artisans and entrepreneurs can find hundreds of thousands of deals on unique, one-of-a-kind products from SMBs on Amazon Storefronts, Amazon Handmade, Amazon Launchpad and more. During last year’s Prime Day, SMBs surpassed $1.5 billion in sales, and we are working to find new and better ways for Prime members to discover deals from these businesses.
For the first time this Prime Day, U.S.-based members will be able to shop dedicated pages of deals from small and medium-sized businesses.
When I speak with small businesses about their experiences, it’s exciting to hear from sellers like Zachary Lewis of Integrity Bottles, who explained, “Prime Day creates a wave all the way to Christmas.” He plans to offer special deals on 20 products this Prime Day, including a Lightning Deal on 600 of his best-selling, uniquely etched crackle wine glasses. For the past three years he’s been selling through Amazon Handmade, and his sales have almost doubled year-over-year. I really like his glasses with fun quotes.
And Melissa Horvath of Sweet Water Decor agreed: "Prime Day is like Cyber Monday in July—it's an amazing opportunity for businesses to get a nice boost in sales during the slow months of the year, when a lot of people are on vacation and enjoying summer. For us, sales tripled even when we offered no Prime deals, so we are excited to see what happens this year with almost our whole shop on sale!"
Horvath will be offering a unique line of gift items at a discount for Prime Day, with the best deals being on their candles and prints. It’s great to see that Melissa has readied her business for Prime Day.
Another seller, Nicole Pond, owner of MoonlightMakers, shared that she has seen a 500% increase in sales on Prime Day in the past. She sells a line of T-shirts, towels and tote bags with humorous and heartfelt messages, and will be offering 30% off two of their best-selling dishtowel products.
It also great to see how small businesses can grow with Amazon. Pond said, "We had to increase our staff because we had such a large boost in sales from the beginning, and it has been increasing ever since." Pond said the extra boost in sales from Prime Day really keeps her business going year-round, which is fantastic to hear.
Julie Pope of Sunlight Silver shared, that, “Since Prime Day is the biggest day of the year on Amazon, I put everything in my shop on sale." She is excited to be featuring Prime Day deals on some of her handmade hoop earrings.
Pope's business saw a 455% increase in sales on Prime Day last year, followed by a daily average increase of 35% for the rest of the year. "Participating in Prime Day deals brings exposure to new customers who try out the product, tell their friends and then come back for more."
I continue to be inspired by the enormous community of Amazon SMB sellers. I’m looking forward to seeing them make the most of Prime Day for our mutual customers and for their businesses. Join me in checking out some of the great offers that small and medium-sized businesses will be featuring on Prime Day this year.