Amazon Prime Day 2024 breaks records in India, driven by strong growth in non-metro cities

Amazon India celebrated its biggest Prime Day ever, with the two-day shopping extravaganza setting new records for sales, customer engagement, and same-day deliveries. The event, now in its eighth year, saw a surge in participation from Prime members, particularly those residing outside of major metropolitan areas.

"We would like to thank our sellers, brands and bank partners for helping us deliver the biggest ever Prime Day in India," said Akshay Sahi, Head of Amazon Prime, Delivery and Returns Experiences for India and Emerging Markets. "Prime members purchased more items than any previous Prime Day shopping event, and we recorded the highest number of same day deliveries. We love helping our customers save big, and Prime Day is the ultimate celebration of value, fast deliveries, great deals, new launches and blockbuster entertainment that the Prime membership provides.”

Key Highlights

Record Engagement: 24% more Prime members in India participated compared to Prime Day 2023, marking the highest engagement in the event's history. Pre-Prime Day signups also reached an all-time high.

Order Frenzy: Prime members placed a record-breaking 24,196 orders per minute during peak shopping times.

Same-Day Delivery Success: A record number of Prime orders in major cities were delivered on the same day or the next day, while those in smaller cities received their orders within two days.

Non-Metro Boom: Two out of three Prime members who shopped during Prime Day 2024 were from non-metro areas, highlighting the growing purchasing power and online shopping adoption in smaller cities.

SMB Success: Over 65% of small and medium businesses (SMBs) that saw sales during Prime Day were from tier 2 and 3 cities. The number of participating SMBs also reached an all-time high, with a 30% increase compared to 2023.

Product Trends

Smartphones: Over 70% of demand for smartphones came from tier 2 and 3 cities. Apple iPads saw a 23x surge in sales, while Samsung Galaxy Tabs experienced a 17x increase compared to the previous Prime Day.

Home Entertainment: Sales in this category grew by 26% compared to the last Prime Day, driven by brands like Sony, Samsung, Xiaomi, TCL, and LG.

Amazon Fresh: Healthier choices like muesli, eggs, seeds, and dry fruits emerged as popular breakfast options, while tropical fruits like Thai guava and avocados saw significant growth.

Brand Partnerships

Several brands, including HP, iQOO, and luggage brand Mokobara, reported strong sales during Prime Day, highlighting the event's success in driving product discovery and sales.

“We are extremely happy to have been associated with Amazon’s Prime Day this year. The success of the event was a testament to our growing partnership with Amazon,” said Vineet Gehani, Sr. Director – PC Category, HP India Sales Pvt Ltd.

Nipun Marya, CEO of iQOO, shared, "We are humbled with the tremendous success of our iQOO smartphones during the Amazon Prime Day 2024 sales. Our products have consistently received high ratings on the platform, which is a testament to our commitment to provide high performance smartphones. Our latest offering, iQOO Z9 Lite 5G, received an overwhelming response, becoming the No.1 best-selling smartphone* across price segments during Prime Day 2024. Amazon has been an essential partner of our journey since our inception in India, and our partnership has continually grown stronger over the years to serve customers pan-India” (*by sales volume)

Sangeet Agarwal, co-founder of Mokobara, noted the significant impact of Prime Day on their business: "This marks our second year launching products on Amazon Prime Day, and the response has been nothing short of extraordinary! We've seen a remarkable 10x increase in overall sales vs BAU justifying the prime customer only promotions offered. Prime Day has undoubtedly been instrumental in our growth strategy, and we're excited to build on this success and continue delivering exceptional experiences to our customers in the future."