What Happened
Amazon reported record sales for its second annual Prime Day event it held on Tuesday. The Seattle-based ecommerce leader enjoyed an increase of over 60% in global sales volume and more than 50% in the U.S. compared to last year’s Prime Day. Compared to the mixed reaction Amazon received last year, the consumer feedbacks regarding Prime Day improved significantly this year, according to two social analytics services.
An important tidbit emerged from Amazon’s press release on Prime Day was how much the sales event pushed sales for Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. Tuesday counted as the largest sales day for Amazon Echo devices, with sales up over 2.5 times compared to the previous daily sales record. Interestingly, many Echo users also tried out the Alexa-enabled voice ordering, purchasing one Alexa-exclusive deal per second on average during Prime Day using their voice.
What Retailers Need To Do
Given the positive results, it seems very likely that Amazon will bring back Prime Day next year. The success of Alexa-enabled voice ordering shows the potential for integrating ecommerce capabilities into voice-based conversational interfaces. As more and more Amazon shoppers get Alexa-enabled devices, voice ordering is something that retail and CPG brands need to look out for.
The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more about our take on this topic, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab.
Source: Amazon’s Press Release