Amazon has revealed that it will kick off pre-Black Friday promotions on Nov. 17 and continue them through Nov. 27. The e-commerce giant will offer discounts on products from renowned brands such as Lancôme, Lego, Peloton, and Yeti. Shoppers have the option to receive personalized discount notifications via Alexa, with notifications available up to 24 hours in advance for eligible items in their Wish List, Carts, or Save For Later lists. Furthermore, customers can instruct Alexa to make a purchase when a deal becomes available using the command “Alexa, buy it for me.”
In addition, Amazon will unveil fresh deals during the initial Black Friday NFL game on Prime Video, scheduled for Nov. 24. During the match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, viewers will have the opportunity to browse offers from brands like Dyson and TCL, as indicated in the press release.
Amazon has decided to prolong its pre-Black Friday promotions, citing the success of last month’s holiday sales event. The company noted that its Prime Big Deal Days sale in October yielded “hundreds of millions of items sold,” although specific sales figures were not disclosed. Amazon did highlight that Prime members placed orders for over 150 million products from independent sellers on its platform.
During the Q3 earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy celebrated the event as Amazon’s “most successful October holiday kickoff ever,” with Prime members enjoying savings exceeding $1 billion.
In terms of quarterly performance, Amazon reported a 7.1% increase in online sales, reaching $57.3 billion, while physical store sales also saw a 5.6% rise to $5 billion. Product sales witnessed a 6.5% year-over-year boost, totaling $63.2 billion, according to the Q3 earnings report. Apart from retail-related gains, the company credited its successful quarter to its non-retail ventures.
Meanwhile, other major retailers have been actively competing for consumer spending well before Black Friday. Walmart recently introduced its “Mean Girls”-themed Black Friday deals advertisement to promote in-store events on Nov. 10 and Nov. 24, with online access on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22. Target, on the other hand, unveiled early holiday discounts last month, with weekly rollouts continuing through the Thanksgiving weekend.