Amazon's second big selling event of the year, held earlier this week, brought in revenue that was down 25% from its comparable July sales event, a Wall Street analyst said Friday. Amazon stock plunged.
BofA analyst Justin Post said the a 48-hour sales event that ran Oct. 12-13 generated an estimated $8 billion in gross merchandise volume. Meanwhile, Amazon's July "Prime Day" raked in $10.7 billion, Post said.
In a note to clients, Post pointed out that while the shopping event fell short of its July Prime Day, Amazon declined to brand it as a Prime Day. This latest event was called "Prime Early Access Sale."
"Ultimately, we view this Early Access event as incrementally beneficial, as both a branding event for Prime and potentially smoothing holiday demand, aiding with logistics," Post said.
Amazon stock fell 5% to close at 106.90 on the stock market today.
Amazon Stock: Two Shopping Events In A Year
It's the first time Amazon has held two Prime shopping events in a year.
"Our Prime Early Access Sale was a great kickoff to the holidays, and the best part is that it's only the beginning," said Doug Herrington, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Stores, in the company's news release. "Customers will find millions of must-have deals throughout the season that will help them continue to save money on gifts."
The company doesn't break out sales figures for the event, however. And estimates from research firm Numerator say the average order was $46.68, down 23% from $60.29 for the July sale.
In terms for goods purchased, Numerator said, the top five categories were household essentials, health and beauty, apparel and shoes, toys/video games, and consumer electronics, respectively.
'Tens Of Millions' Taking Part
Amazon said "tens of millions" of shoppers ordered more than 100 million items. It also said top sellers included the Apple MacBook Air M1, a Peloton Interactive bike, Bose earbuds and headphones, and Casper pillows.
The mid-October sales event took place well before the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping period. But early Christmas shoppers flocking to the Prime sales event could siphon away some traffic from that traditional retail bonanza. That could have an effect on Amazon stock.
Numerator said 29% of Prime Early Access shoppers used it to buy holiday gifts.
"Holiday shopping on Amazon is just getting started," Amazon said. "Customers will find savings throughout the holiday season, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, on must-have brands across categories."
Amazon Stock: Inflation Has A Hand In Sale
Numerator said inflation also influenced the Amazon Early Access sale. About 29% of shoppers said they waited for the sale to purchase a specific item at a discounted price. Another 26% passed on a deal because it wasn't a necessity. About 13% looked at prices outside of Amazon before buying.
Like other industries across the board, retailers are struggling with multiple challenges. They include slowing e-commerce sales, inflation, rising interest rates and a potential recession.
The IBD Stock Checkup tool shows that Amazon stock has a weak IBD Composite Rating of 33 out of 99. Amazon stock jumped after a second-quarter earnings report that, while missing earnings estimates, beat on revenue across the board.
Please follow Brian Deagon on Twitter at @IBD_BDeagon for more on tech stocks, analysis and financial markets.
