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With another Amazon Prime Big Deal Days (BDD) sale in the books, new CivicScience data show what shoppers bought, how they shopped, and what it could mean for other retailers in the weeks ahead.
Just as CivicScience data suggested ahead of the sale, beauty was the top category among BDD shoppers, with just over one-third (34%) saying they bought beauty/health products. Electronics, home goods, apparel, and kitchen appliances followed in a tight cluster, each purchased by more than a quarter of shoppers, suggesting shoppers spread their spending across a range of everyday categories. More specialized categories, such as fitness, outdoor, and especially auto, were less common.
BDD shopping wasn’t limited to items on sale. In fact, 58% of shoppers tell CivicScience they bought a mix of items that were on sale and ones that weren’t. Forty-two percent, meanwhile, stuck exclusively to items that were on sale.
Big Deal Days Sparked Impulse Buying and Could Shift Spending at Other Retailers
When asked about their shopping during the sale, a plurality of BDD shoppers (41%) said they bought items they were already planning to buy. Nearly as many (39%) made impulse purchases, picking up items they hadn’t originally planned on buying. The sale also shifted the timing of some purchases, with 34% buying items earlier than planned, while 1 in 5 held off on some items to buy later.
With BDD continually carving out a piece of the fall retail pie, it stands to reason that some consumer spending at other retailers may be affected. While the majority (58%) of BDD shoppers tell CivicScience their planned spending at other retailers won’t change because of BDD, 42% do expect some impact on their upcoming retail spending. Notably, 24% expect they’ll spend less at other retailers this month as a result of BDD, compared with 18% who plan to spend more.
Walmart Leads Secondary Sale Participation, but Watch Out for TikTok Shop
Other retailers weren’t just sitting on the sidelines while BDD was live. Several competing sales events ran alongside BDD, and nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults tell CivicScience they shopped at least one of the sales shown in the chart below. Among those sale shoppers, BDD drew the most participation by far, though only half shopped it, meaning many found their deals elsewhere. Walmart’s Fall Deals came in second, outranking non-BDD sales by at least 13 percentage points. Further underscoring the growing relevance of TikTok Shop in retail, the platform’s Fall Deals For You sale held its own, narrowly trailing Target while slightly outpacing major retailers like Kohl’s and Macy’s.
More Holiday Shopping Still Ahead for BDD Shoppers
With the sale now in the rearview, new CivicScience data show BDD shoppers still have work to do on their holiday shopping lists. Forty-one percent say they haven’t started shopping for the holidays yet (56% of Gen Pop say the same), while 29% have only done ‘a little.’ BDD shoppers also plan to spend more this season than the average consumer, with 43% expecting to spend more on the holidays than last year, seven percentage points higher than Gen Pop (36%). That makes BDD shoppers one of the more engaged holiday audiences heading into the season.
Big Deal Day’s reach continues to stretch past Amazon, influencing what shoppers buy, when they buy it, and how much they expect to spend elsewhere. While its shoppers are ahead of Gen Pop in holiday shopping, a large share has yet to start, and with many expecting to spend more this year, the bulk of their holiday dollars remains up for grabs.
