3 Stocks That Scored Big on Amazon Prime Day
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) held its annual Prime Day sales extravaganza on July 16 and 17. Shoppers spent an estimated $14.2 billion this year over the two-day event, an 11% increase from last year.
While Amazon is light on details of how much was actually spent, it said it was another record-breaking sale that saw a record number of people sign up for Prime. While some of those undoubtedly signed up just to take advantage of the sales and will cancel afterward, Amazon likely significantly built on its estimated 180.1 million Prime users in the U.S.
Yet Amazon is not alone in running a sale. Other retailers realizing the interest consumers have in saving money during the event, piggyback on Prime Day with their own sales. However, it is becoming increasingly common amongst Amazon’s main rivals to avoid directly competing against the e-commerce giant. Instead, many run their own sales events either just before or just after Amazon.
Here are three Amazon Prime Day stocks that benefited from the sales-apalooza either with their own doorbuster event or on Prime Day itself.
Walmart (WMT)
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) used to compete directly with Amazon by holding sales on Prime Day but it hasn’t for the past couple of years. Now that it has its own member loyalty program, Walmart+ Week is an exclusive opportunity for subscribers to save big. It ran a month ahead of Prime Day, going from June 17 to June 23.
According to PYMNTS Intelligence, its survey of Walmart+ members found the fourth annual event was used as a chance to stock up on groceries. Two-thirds of shoppers bought grocery products while the next largest items were health and beauty products where approximately 60% of shoppers purchased them. Clothing and accessories was third with about 50% of members buying.
As the sales event was both online and in-store, PYMNTS found online shoppers bought 20.6 items on average versus 14.9 items for those who visited a brick-and-mortar store.
What the PYMNTS Intelligence survey indicates is that Walmart continues to do well at what it does best. Particularly during periods of elevated inflation, shoppers go to the retailer to get the best deals on essentials, primarily food for their families. As they were also able to take advantage of free shipping, Walmart remains a destination for everyday low prices.
Target (TGT)
Target (NYSE:TGT) was another retailer that used to go head-to-head with Amazon on Prime Day but decided holding its own event separately was a better use of its resources. The retailer has held week-long savings events in the past but this year it launched Circle Week in April. It coincided with Target revamping its loyalty program to include a new $99 tier, Target Circle 360.
Its second Circle Week event of the year was held just ahead of Prime Day between July 7 and July 13. It was exclusive only to Target Circle members, whether in the free or paid tier. Like Walmart+ Week, the Target sale was also an omnichannel event letting members shop online, in-store or via the Target app.
Target may have even gotten a benefit over Amazon but at the expense of the sellers. CNBC reported that Amazon’s pricing algorithm detected the sales price on Target’s website. It caused third-party retailers to lose the “buy box” location on Amazon. That is the listing that first pops up when a consumer searches for a product. While a sale may have been made at Target, merchants found their Amazon sales imploded.
Target’s sales week success hasn’t translated yet to its stock price. Shares are flat in July though they are up 5% year-to-date and 11% higher over the past 12 months.
Best Buy (BBY)
Electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) held a Black Friday in July sales promotion that coincided with Prime Day. Yet it started one day earlier on July 15. According to the website Tinuiti, many other retailers also ran competing events. However, only Best Buy ranked high enough to register alongside Walmart and Target.
Where 35% of consumers said they would shop Walmart+ Week and 34% said Target Circle Week was on their radar, Best Buy’s summer sale was being considered by 11%. Yes, significantly less than the others, but miles ahead of other retailers.
It also offered some incredible deals. TVs were starting at $64, Chromebooks went for $139 and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watches were offered for $299, a $100 savings. And unlike other retailers, you didn’t need to belong to a member loyalty program to score the deals. However, if you were a subscriber, you got additional savings.
After falling hard last year, Best Buy stock has been scrambling to recover. From its low point in November, BBY is up 40%. It has found its footing again in the digital space. Best Buy is effectively using its stores as fulfillment centers for online sales. Some 35% of its stores now account for 70% of ship-from-store volume. Best Buy has become a competitive threat again to other consumer electronics retailers.
On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
