Introduction

What’s the Story? In 2022, Amazon India’s sixth annual Prime Day retained its traditional July schedule, similar to last year’s event. The event began at midnight IST (2:30 a.m. EDT) on Saturday, July 23, and ran through Sunday, July 24. On July 26, 2022, Amazon India released select metrics, excluding sales figures, for Prime Day 2022. In this report, based on these metrics and our observations of the event, we present key trends and insights from Prime Day 2022 in India. Why It Matters Following its launch, Prime Day has become one of the prominent shopping events in India, benefiting multiple stakeholders, such as consumers, small and medium businesses (SMBs)—including artisans, local shops, manufacturers, sellers, startups and brands, weavers and women entrepreneurs—and Amazon India itself. Specifically, at a time when inflation is soaring in India and businesses continue to find themselves impacted by supply chain disruptions, Prime Day 2022 empowered thousands of SMBs by generating online business for their products, leading to single-day sales records for many. Consumers benefited this year as they focused more of their discretionary spending on categories severely impacted by inflation, while the event led to strong growth for Amazon India’s membership base, which the company can leverage for upcoming events, such as its Great Indian Festival.

Amazon Prime Day India 2022—Wrap-Up: Coresight Research Analysis

1. SMBs Continue To Benefit from Increased Sales During Prime Day 2022 Amazon India offered improved online sales and growth prospects for third-party brands and sellers during Prime Day 2022. Below, we present the key benefits for sellers during this year’s event.

• During the lead-up to Prime Day 2022 (July 7–22 this year, according to Amazon India) and the event itself, customers shopped from 50% more sellers, compared to 126,003 sellers during Prime Day 2021. Shoppers spanned 11,738 zip codes, up from 6,800 last year and covering over 95% of the country’s geography, according to a company press release.
• This year’s event witnessed increased seller participation from India’s lower-tier cities—in line with our predictions in this year’s Prime Day India Preview 2022 report. Out of all sellers that participated in the event, the company reported that 70% came from Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities such as Coimbatore, Jalandhar, Kolhapur, Mangalore and Surat. Many of the sellers from these cities were SMBs.
• Amazon India stated that more than 32,000 sellers achieved their highest-ever sales day during Prime Day 2022. Compared to Prime Day 2021, around 18% more sellers—up from 209 in last year’s event—grossed sales of over ₹10 million (around $134,000).
• Amazon Karigar—a program to help artisans, weavers and handicraft and handloom product makers sell their products on Amazon—witnessed a “nearly 4.5X sales uplift” compared to last year, the company stated in a press release.
• Two of Amazon India’s other programs, Amazon Saheli (a special initiative to encourage female entrepreneurs in India) and Local Shops on Amazon (a program to register physical stores on Amazon), received year-over-year sales increases of 2X and 4X, respectively.
• During the lead-up to Prime Day 2022, Amazon India piloted the “The Product Sampling Experience” initiative to help sellers introduce their products to Prime members, increasing brand awareness. The program partnered with merchants from various categories—including beauty, grocery, health and personal care—to create product sampling campaigns and solicit feedback, allowing sellers to improve their products. Figure 1 below shows some of the brands that launched product sampling campaigns during the lead-up to Prime Day 2022.

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Figure 1. India: Product Sampling Campaigns Launched During the Lead-Up to Prime Day 2022

Brand (Categories)	Campaign Goals	Campaign Details and Results
Third Wave Coffee (Quick service coffee restaurant)	Acquire new customers for the brand’s “Wake me up blend”	Third Wave Coffee’s campaign targeted two sets of customers: Current consumers of gourmet coffee Consumers aware of the brand, but not buyers During the campaign, the company had over 950 samples redeemed over a week, and, afterward, the product became the best-selling instant coffee on Amazon India.
Pee Safe (Personal care)	Improve prospects for “Disposable Body Hair Removal Shaving Razor”	Pee Safe’s campaign targeted buyers of shaving razors who did not purchase the company’s products. Pee Safe had more than 2,900 samples redeemed over two weeks. Subsequently, the product became the number one seller in Amazon India’s women’s disposable razors category.

Source: Company reports

  2. Prime Members Increase Discretionary Purchases on Prime Day 2022 During this year’s Prime Day, Prime members used the event’s various offers and discounts to make discretionary purchases spanning many categories, including apparel and footwear, beauty, electronics, groceries and home and kitchen, amid soaring inflation.

• Overall, the apparel and footwear, beauty, electronics, groceries, home and kitchen, and groceries categories saw the highest number of units sold during Prime Day 2022.
• Prime members used the event to stock up on pantry and household essentials, including detergents, diapers and toothpastes. According to Amazon India, these categories saw over five times more sales on Prime Day 2022 compared to a standard shopping day. Members also participated in exclusive event product launches, such as Liquid Detergent Concentrate from Hindustan Unilever’s Surf Excel.
• Companies in the kidswear, menswear and womenswear apparel categories, such as Allen Solly, Biba, Hopscotch, Levi’s, Pepe Janes and Vero Moda, saw “almost 10X growth compared to a normal shopping day.”
• Members upgraded their existing large appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, with the exchange of old appliances for new ones increasing around 150% on Prime Day compared to a regular shopping day.
• Members also upgraded their smartphones from 4G technology to 5G technology, improving the sales for prominent technology brands such as Apple, iQOO, OnePlus, Realme, Redmi and Samsung.
• The growing hybrid work environment prompted consumers to increase spending in furniture categories—members bought a piece of furniture every 1.8 seconds during Prime Day, according to Amazon India.
• Pandemic-led behaviors such as wellness also prompted member spending during Prime Day 2022, with many utilizing offers on treadmills, in-home bicycles and sporting equipment. Likewise, product launches in the sports nutrition, supplements and vitamins categories also attracted member interest.

[caption id="attachment_152772" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Top categories for Prime Day sale 2022
Source: Company website[/caption]   3. Amazon India Sees Increased Member Base and Services Usage Amazon India benefited from this year’s sale event due to an overall expansion of its member base, as well as increased usage of its entertainment options, payment platforms and other services.

• According to Amazon India, compared to Prime Day 2021, 1.5 times more customers signed up for Prime membership during this year’s event—either during the lead-up period or on Prime Day itself—with two out of three new members coming from locations outside India’s top 10 towns and cities, such as Dholpur, Nagapattinam, Raebareli, Tonk and Yamuna Nagar.
• The company reported that Prime members from over 3,800 Indian cities and towns watched Prime Video content, while members from over 230 countries and territories watched titles released as part of this year’s Prime Day event.
• Prime Reading eBook borrowing witnessed a 52% surge from last year’s event, while first-time borrowing, specifically, increased by 66%.
• During this year’s event, one in two members used Amazon Pay—a payment-processing service that allows users to use payment methods already linked to their Amazon account on external sites. Furthermore, 72% of the members that used Amazon Pay were from Tier 2 and 3 Indian cities, further showcasing the adoption of the e-commerce giant’s digital payment offerings in the country’s lower-tier markets.
• Amazon devices, such as Echo Dot and FireTV Stick, ranked among the top five best-selling products during Prime Day 2022, with members buying one of these devices every second. Furthermore, one out of every 10 smartwatches and one in every six smartphones sold during the event featured built-in Alexa.
• Amazon also improved its commitment to sustainability by deploying 4.5 times more electric vehicles than last year, covering over 160,000 kilometers (99,419 miles) in Prime Day deliveries.
• Furthermore, India’s largest and most celebrated religious festivals across the country such as “Navratri” and “Diwali” fall during October–November 2022. As part of the festival celebrations and welcoming guests, consumers dress-up and décor their homes, leading to increased spending on categories such as apparel, footwear, appliances, home décor, and personal care items. Amazon that hosts its upcoming Great Indian Festival during this period will benefit from this improved base of members, especially from Tier 2 cities and beyond, through better sales and revenue.

What We Think

Prime Day 2022 in India took place in a volatile environment of economic uncertainty and mounting supply chain disruptions. Despite that, the event helped sellers improve their online customer base and future sales prospects, easing some uncertainty for the remainder of the year. The event also confirmed that deep discounts drive discretionary spending among consumers, despite an unfavorable economic situation. Amazon will likely expand its seller base of artisans, weavers and local shops from India’s lower-tier cities for its future sale events such as The Great Indian Festival. These sellers from different Indian states offer products in art, crafts and home décor that are diverse and unique to the customs and traditions of their respective states. By expanding its seller base, Amazon can offer these products at much-discounted prices during such shopping events. Brands and retailers should look at online shopping festivals for exclusive product launches and upgrades, as these events will improve the reach across all of India, especially the lower-tier markets. Consumer electronics brands can also look at augmenting the offerings under “exchange offers” for upcoming events, meaning consumers will have to spend less on the new product during these uncertain times. The furniture and home improvement categories will continue to witness improved sales during the festive season, fueled by the growing hybrid working mode. As a result of pandemic-led trends, health and wellness will also continue to witness traction in upcoming events. Amazon Prime Day 2022 set product precedence for brands, retailers and Amazon India itself, showcasing the categories which are likely to witness more spending from consumers during the upcoming Great Freedom Sale in August and its flagship annual event, the Great Indian Festival. Implications for Brands/Retailers

• Prime Day 2022 demonstrated that brands and retailers can increase their sales prospects during times of inflation by offering deep discounts across product categories. Companies should adopt this strategy irrespective of whether they partner with Amazon India or not.