Of course, some regions are seeing a reversal to prior stages of restricted movement, and varying levels of outbreak across the country will likely continue to mean that the situation for many Americans is highly dependent on which state and city they live in.
Across a collection of long-standing Tinuiti advertisers that remained active throughout July 2019 and July 2020, sales attributed to Sponsored Products were up 12% for the month in aggregate despite a 3% decline in ad spend. The slight decrease in ad spend was a result of declining average CPC, with a 13% CPC dip erasing the effects of a 19% increase in ad clicks.
Amazon Sponsored Products Sales Up 12% Y/Y in July 2020
While vendors and sellers are still eyeing the potential for a big boost in sales that might come from a Prime Day later in the year, July performance didn’t dip quite as much as many may have expected on the advertising side of things. eCommerce is still a hugely important part of how Americans are dealing with the pandemic, and Amazon continues to be as well positioned as any company to grow as a result of this increased online demand. Even without the huge event this year, many Amazon advertisers saw growth year over year in terms of July sales attributed to Sponsored Products ads.
Advertisers are seeing that play out in real time, with year-over-year growth in July despite the absence of such a key event. If and when Prime Day does occur this year, it could be one for the books given the growth observed in July without it. Breaking down some of the top-growing product categories in terms of Sponsored Products sales based on which category each advertiser is most active in, we find many relate to the current situation of more restricted movement, such as home and garden, grocery, and health and personal care products. This happened despite the steady reopening of many regions, which may put a damper on eCommerce sales in the second half of the year. Amazon delayed Prime Day this year as it encountered a massive surge in demand brought about by COVID-19 that put strain on Amazon’s fulfillment capabilities. Reports indicate that Prime Day is now scheduled to take place in October, though the official date has not been formally confirmed by Amazon itself.
The median advertiser studied didn’t see sales increase as much as the aggregate, but still saw sales tick up 2% year over year for July, which is likely surprising to many observers given the lack of Prime Day this year.
