Next week, Amazon brings back its semi-regular Prime Day shopping deals, sparking a surge in online shopping among consumers everywhere. Unfortunately, this year seems to show somewhat of a dip in those planning to participate, as compared to October’s Prime Day numbers. 

The number of people who don’t plan on participating in Prime Day has risen to 63%, as compared to 47% in October. 

For those who do plan to participate, electronics and tech products continue to be in highest demand, despite experiencing a notable drop of seven percentage points. Shoppers intending to buy clothing and apparel, meanwhile, have risen five percentage points since October.

Perhaps the looming return to workplaces, social activities, and in-person shopping has inspired some to update their wardrobes. 

Employment Status

Interestingly, October data pointed to electronics and tech items being the most popular shopping category for all workers, not just those who had begun working remotely during the pandemic. 

While electronics and tech continue to be a leading category presently, it is less uniformly so. Employed adults who have been working as usual are most interested in apparel during next week’s Prime Days. Home goods and decor are prominent among those not currently working, and auto purchases figure highly among those with reduced hours and pay. 

Parental Status

Parents showed interest in toys in October, but that trend has since dropped, to be replaced with an increased interest in home goods and decor, and outdoor products. Non-parents, meanwhile, are more interested in apparel and kitchen items more than others.  

Emotional Shopping

Levels of stress have also demonstrated a fascinating relationship to the types of shopping done during this month’s Prime Days. Those who are at least somewhat strongly stressed are more likely to purchase kitchen products (maybe they are preparing cooking spaces for expected in-laws to resume their regular visits – something that’s stressful for everyone), while those feeling more relaxed are leaning into home goods and decor (perhaps a new set of pillows to relax their non-stressed heads upon). 

Regardless of what people intend to buy, it should come as no surprise that higher levels of stress correlate to being more likely to shop in general. 

Even if people don’t know what they want yet, if they’re experiencing high levels of stress, they are almost 20% more likely to be shopping next week. 

Shipping Delays

Finally, despite recent reports of shipping delays among its shoppers, Amazon expects things to be back to normal well before its Prime Day events later this month. This is good news for just over one-third (35%) of customers who say they are less likely to shop on Prime Day should their purchases be impacted by shipping delays. 

As of this writing, intent to shop during this summer’s Amazon Prime Days is much lower than it was ahead of October’s event, and could be further impacted by potential shipping delays. The drop in intent to purchase tech items may be one of the leading causes of this decline, as many head back to their respective offices in the coming weeks and months, and therefore require fewer tech items in their personal spaces. 

CivicScience will continue to keep its thumb on the pulse of consumer trends as Amazon Prime Day deals come and go throughout the year.