Prime Day 2025: A Game Changer for Brands

Amazon Prime Day has always been a colossal event, driving massive sales and shaping consumer spending habits in the summer. However, Prime Day 2025, running from July 8th to July 11th, isn't just another iteration; it represents a significant evolution that necessitates a reevaluation of brand strategies compared to 2024. This year, Amazon is pushing the boundaries with an extended format and deeper technological integration, which has profound implications for how brands can (and should) participate.

The Key Shifts from Prime Day 2024 to 2025:

1. The "Four-Day Frenzy" (vs. Two-Day Sprint): Prime Day 2024 largely adhered to its traditional two-day format (July 16th-17th), with a second "Big Deal Days" in October. For 2025, the main summer event has doubled in length to a full 96 hours. This isn't just more time; it's a fundamental change in rhythm.

• Impacts:

  • Sustained Engagement: Brands can no longer rely on a short, sharp burst of activity. They need to plan for sustained engagement across four days, maintaining visibility and promotional momentum. This means a more staggered approach to deals, potentially introducing new offers daily or extending existing ones.

  • Inventory Management: Managing inventory will be even more critical. Brands need to ensure sufficient stock for a longer selling window to avoid stockouts that frustrate customers and miss out on sales.

  • Ad Budget Stretch: Advertising budgets that previously powered a 48-hour flash sale now need to stretch further. Brands will need to optimise their ad spend more strategically, perhaps front-loading some efforts or focusing on retargeting throughout the event.

  • "Today's Big Deals": The introduction of "Today's Big Deals" – new, themed daily deal drops – offers a fresh opportunity. Brands can aim to be featured in these highly visible slots, but it requires agility and a well-coordinated plan to capitalise on the limited-time nature of these offers.

    
    

2. The AI Power-Up: Alexa+ and Personalised Discovery: In 2024, Alexa could offer deal notifications. For Prime Day 2025, Amazon is heavily promoting Alexa+, its next-generation AI assistant. This is more than just notifications; Alexa+ is designed to provide personalised deal recommendations and proactively alert shoppers to deals on their wish lists or in their carts.

• Impacts:

  • Data-Driven Targeting: The emphasis on personalisation means brands need to have a deeper understanding of their target audience and how their products fit into customer wish lists and shopping habits. Leveraging Amazon's advertising tools for precise audience targeting will be even more crucial.

  • Optimised Product Listings: High-quality product listings with accurate attributes and compelling content become paramount. The better Amazon's AI can understand a product, the more effectively it can recommend it to the right shoppers.

  • Review Generation: Prime Day is a massive opportunity for review generation. Increased sales mean increased opportunities for customers to leave reviews, which in turn fuels the AI's recommendation engine. Brands should have robust post-purchase strategies to encourage reviews.

  • Understanding the "Hidden Review Advantage": As noted by industry experts, a significant surge in orders during Prime Day can lead to a proportional increase in review rates. This "residual benefit" can provide a long-term rankings boost, making Prime Day a strategic investment beyond immediate sales.

    
    

3. Broader Reach and Value (Beyond Just Deep Discounts): While Prime Day remains discount-heavy, 2025 sees Amazon pushing for broader accessibility and different value propositions. This includes:

• "Prime for Young Adults": A discounted Prime membership for younger demographics, with enhanced cashback during Prime Day.

• Emphasis on Lower ASP Items: Amazon is making a concerted effort to expand its assortment of lower average selling price (ASP) items, supported by its enhanced logistics network.

• "Barbell Effect" Continuation: In 2024, a "barbell effect" was observed, with both low and high ASP items over-indexing. This trend is expected to continue.

• Impacts:

  • Diversified Product Strategy: Brands should consider having a mix of offerings, not just their hero products at deep discounts, but also accessible, lower-priced items that can capture impulse buys or appeal to the "Prime for Young Adults" segment.

  • Profitability Focus: While discounts are essential, brands need to carefully consider their unit economics. The goal shouldn't just be to dump aging stock, but to drive profitable sales and gain new customers.

  • Market Share Opportunity: For brands with lower ASP products, this could be a significant opportunity to gain market share, as Amazon's improved logistics make these products more viable for rapid delivery.

  • New Customer Acquisition: Prime Day isn't just about moving units; it's about acquiring new customers and driving Prime memberships. Brands should leverage this to expand their customer base and cultivate long-term loyalty.

    
    

4. The Strategic (Not Just Promotional) Event: There's a growing sentiment that Prime Day, for brands, should be less about simply "dumping units" and more about strategic objectives. Some brands are even scaling back their full-throttle participation due to increasing advertising costs and tariff uncertainties.

• Impacts:

  • Strategic Product Selection: Instead of just discounting best-sellers, brands might focus on "medium-demand" products. These can benefit significantly from the increased visibility and traffic without cannibalising sales of their core products.

  • Product Marketing Laboratory: Prime Day can serve as a testbed. Brands can analyse how different pricing, ad campaigns, and product page optimisations perform under intense traffic, gaining valuable insights for future events.

  • "Halo Effect": Even brands not running direct Prime Day promotions can see a "halo effect" with increased sales and ROAS. This suggests that simply having a strong presence and optimised listings on Amazon during Prime Day can yield benefits.

  • Post-Event Analysis: The work doesn't end when Prime Day does. Thorough post-event analysis of sales, digital shelf metrics, and advertising performance is crucial for refining strategies for future tentpole events like Cyber 5.

    
    

The Bottom Line for Brands:

Prime Day 2025 is more complex, more extended, and more technologically driven. Brands that approach it with a data-driven, strategic mindset – focusing on sustained engagement, leveraging AI for personalisation, and diversifying their product and promotional strategies – will be best positioned to cut through the noise and achieve meaningful, long-term success on the platform. It's no longer just a sales event; it's a strategic pillar of the annual retail calendar.

Amazon Ads and Paid Media form a dynamic ecosystem that many brands struggle to manage effectively. At Ikay Media, we’re here to ensure your Digital Ads strategy drives results for your business. We’re currently providing brands with free audits, designed to pinpoint challenges and offer actionable solutions.

If you’re keen to learn more about how Ikay Media can drive your brand forward, please DM me on LinkedIN or email on adam@ikaymedia.com