Strong 3rd-Party Prime Day Sales Gave 'Robust' Start to Holiday Selling: Cowen

Amazon’s disclosure Thursday that Prime Day third-party sales grew 60% year on year could signal a “busy holiday season,” Cowen's John Blackledge wrote investors. Amazon said small- and medium-sized businesses raked in $3.5 billion in sales over the 48-hour Prime Day event, which Blackledge called a “robust start” to the holiday sales season, with an estimated total Prime Day gross merchandise value of $6.6 billion. It’s a “positive note for what is likely to be an unusually long 4Q / holiday shopping season, as consumers order earlier to ensure delivery in time for key holiday dates," said the analyst. Robust growth indicates Amazon overcame any supply chain hurdles “as they manage an unprecedented 4Q with Prime Day so close to the post-Thanksgiving Cyber Monday events.” Consumer appetite appears to be "strong," underscoring Cowen’s belief that the pandemic is driving a “meaningful and sustained increase in consumers’ online purchasing habits.” Amazon highlighted top-selling tech items as Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II headphones, discounted 43% to $199 (see 2010130022), the Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch, Fire TV Edition smart TVs from Toshiba and Insignia, Roomba’s iRobot vacuum and a MyQ smart wireless garage door opener. Among its own products, the $19 Echo Dot was the most popular item purchased globally, it said. "Tens of millions" of customers supported small businesses in the two-week lead-up to Prime Day, generating more than $900 million in sales for small businesses included in Amazon's "Spend $10, Get $10" promotion, said the e-tailer.