Amazon Prime Day goes from rummage sale to must-shop event

Promotion surpassed Cyber Monday, Black Friday and the previous Prime Day

Amazon. com 's fourth annual Prime Day event lured shoppers from around the world, highlighting the promotion's evolution from a rummage sale of obscure products to 36 hours of discounts on major brands such as Samsonite luggage, Callaway golf clubs and General Mills cereals.

The promotion was the biggest shopping event in the company’s history, surpassing Cyber Monday, Black Friday and the previous Prime Day. Members bought more than 100 million products, Amazon said.

It’s a sharp contrast from the first Prime Day in 2015, when customers complained on social media about underwhelming offerings that resembled a warehouse clearance sale. Amazon also said it saw more people signing up for Prime memberships on July 16th than at any previous day in its history, adding to the ranks of 100 million members who are already Amazon’s most active and loyal shoppers.

The company doesn’t release Prime Day sales figures. But estimates from Feedvisor, which sells pricing software used by Amazon merchants, showed spending increased 89 per cent from a year earlier during the first 12 hours of the event. – Bloomberg