What happened on Prime Day

Every year, Amazon Prime Day gets bigger. And every year, the sellers who treat it as just another sale miss the point entirely. Prime Day is not just about the 48 hours of deals. It is about the weeks of preparation before, the surge during, and the momentum after. Here is what smart sellers should learn from past Prime Days and how to apply those lessons to your next big sales event.

Insights from Andrew Morgans and the Marknology team in Kansas City.

What Prime Day Results Actually Look Like

Amazon does not share granular seller-level data publicly, but here is what we know from working with brands through multiple Prime Day events:

• Traffic spikes of 5-10x: Expect your daily sessions to multiply dramatically during Prime Day. If you normally get 100 sessions per day, plan for 500-1,000.
• Conversion rate changes: Conversion rates during Prime Day vary. Products with deals tend to convert higher than normal. Products without deals may see lower conversion rates because shoppers are specifically hunting for discounts.
• PPC costs increase 30-50%: Competition for ad placements is fierce. Cost-per-click rises across almost every category.
• New-to-brand customer acquisition spikes: Prime Day brings shoppers who might not normally shop in your category. This is your chance to acquire customers who become repeat buyers.

Lessons from Past Prime Days

Lesson 1: Inventory Is Everything

The number one regret sellers have after Prime Day is running out of stock. When you stock out during the highest-traffic period of the year, you lose the sale, you lose the organic ranking boost that comes with high-velocity sales, and you lose the halo effect of the weeks that follow. Over-ordering for Prime Day is almost always smarter than under-ordering.

Lesson 2: Deals Drive Discovery

Products running Lightning Deals or Best Deals get featured on Amazon's Prime Day landing pages, email campaigns, and app notifications. Even if the deal margin is thin, the exposure is worth it. We have seen brands double their organic ranking after a successful Prime Day deal because the sales velocity signals to Amazon's algorithm that the product is in high demand.

Lesson 3: Mobile Dominates

Over 70% of Prime Day purchases happen on mobile devices. If your main image looks bad on a phone, your bullet points are unreadable on a small screen, or your A+ Content does not render properly on mobile, you are losing the majority of Prime Day shoppers.

Lesson 4: External Traffic Multiplies Results

Sellers who drive external traffic to their Amazon listings during Prime Day see outsized results. When you combine Amazon's internal traffic surge with your own email list, social media audience, and influencer partnerships, the compounding effect is powerful. Amazon Attribution lets you track which external sources are driving the most sales.

Lesson 5: Post-Prime Day Is Where the Real Wins Happen

Most sellers pack up after Prime Day and go back to business as usual. That is a mistake. The two weeks following Prime Day are a golden window:

• Your organic ranking is elevated from the sales velocity boost
• New customers who discovered your brand are still browsing
• PPC costs drop back down while traffic remains elevated
• Competitors who ran out of stock are missing from search results

This is the time to maintain your ad spend, push your Subscribe & Save enrollment, and retarget Prime Day buyers with Sponsored Display ads.

Building Your Prime Day Playbook

90 Days Before: Planning

• Review last year's Prime Day performance (or your last major sales event)
• Forecast inventory needs with a 3-5x multiplier on normal daily sales
• Submit deal applications (Amazon opens these early)
• Begin listing optimization: images, A+ Content, bullet points, backend keywords

30 Days Before: Preparation

• Confirm inventory is received at FBA warehouses
• Set up Prime Day-specific PPC campaigns with increased budgets
• Create external marketing content (emails, social posts, influencer briefs)
• A/B test main images and copy to optimize conversion before the surge

Prime Day Week: Execution

• Monitor PPC campaigns hourly and adjust bids based on real-time performance
• Push external traffic campaigns live
• Track inventory levels and adjust if products are selling faster than expected
• Engage with customers on Amazon Posts and your Brand Store

Post-Prime Day: Capitalize

• Maintain elevated ad spend for 2 weeks after Prime Day
• Request reviews from Prime Day customers
• Analyze performance data and document lessons for next year
• Reorder inventory to capitalize on sustained demand

The Bottom Line

Prime Day rewards sellers who prepare. The brands that treat it as a 90-day strategy rather than a 2-day event consistently outperform those who scramble at the last minute. Start planning early, invest in the right areas, and use the momentum to fuel growth for months after the event ends.

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