How Much Amazon Sold On Prime Day (A Lot)

There are no hard sales numbers yet, but it looks like Amazon Prime Day may be a case of “customers said” vs. “company said.”

The eCommerce company held a 24-hour sales event for members of its Prime platform on Wednesday (July 15) through which Prime orders receive expedited shipping and discounts. And despite much-publicized complaints from subscribers during the event, Forbes said in an article on Thursday (July 16), Amazon touted the event as a “runaway success” — so much so that it plans to make Prime Day an annual event.

Amazon said it sold more units during this inaugural Prime Day than it sold during the biggest Black Friday in the company’s history, according to a statement. Worldwide order growth surged 18 percent year over year from 2014’s Black Friday levels and wound up leaving last year’s July 15 sales levels in the dust, by about 266 percent. Amazon also said its promotion got more people to try the service than had been seen on any previous day.

In the statement detailing results, Amazon said that “customers worldwide ordered an astonishing 398 items per second and saved millions on Prime Day deals,” according to Greg Greeley, Amazon Prime vice president. ”Going into this, we weren’t sure whether Prime Day would be a one-time thing or if it would become an annual event. After yesterday’s results, we’ll definitely be doing this again.”

That corporate satisfaction may seem at odds with the consumers themselves. As had been widely reported, Amazon came under some fire online due to its discounts and selection and also as some customers had to be added to a waitlist for some sold-out choices. There was a point during the day, noted Forbes, when #PrimeDayFail trended above #PrimeDay on Twittter.

The financial publication stated that one of the bigger positives for the company came through the sale of its own branded electronics. Amazon claimed it was the biggest one-day sale of devices ever.

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