Amazon Prime Day sales beat Black Friday (AMZN)
<img style="float: right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/55282dd66bb3f71c4e28a776-700/bii-amazon-cross-shop-corrected-2.png" alt="bii amazon cross shop corrected 2" border="0" />
Amazon's 24-hour summer sale for Prime members, called Prime Day, appears to have been a major success for the online retailer.
Product orders exceeded that of last year's Black <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_215892312"><span class="aQJ">Friday</span></span> sale which was open to all Amazon customers (not just Prime members), reports the company.
But the purpose of Prime Day wasn't so much about generating a large influx of revenue in the short term as it was about generating awareness about its members-only shopping program Prime.
Shoppers were able to participate in Prime Day without a subscription by signing up for a free trial, which allowed them to experience all of the shipping perks and discounts that members experience on a daily basis.
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In fact, Amazon likely lost money on Prime Day because of the steep discounts, but that risk could pay off in the long run by converting more shoppers to Prime memberships. Members of Prime who spend more money on Amazon on average than non-Prime members, according to a report from Millward Brown.
<ul>
<li>Prime members spend about $1,500 with Amazon each year, while non-Prime members spend about $625 with the retailer annually.</li>
<li>Prime members are also much less likely to shop at other retail websites in a single shopping session than non-members.</li>
</ul>
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<b>See Also:</b>
<ul><li>Retailers are launching a new generation of e-commerce membership programs modeled on 'Amazon Prime'</li><li>Retailers are exploring fee-based programs like Amazon Prime</li><li>People are making fun of how Amazon Prime Day features deals on random things like Tupperware and krill oil</li></ul></group><group id="B91E31B3-7B4B-40ED-B613-D290D38A3360" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></