Bloomberg has a story about how Amazon’s Prime Day experience can be frustrating for shoppers “because the best deals are often gone in seconds.” But this year, there’s a new wrinkle: “the company is dangling an ‘invite-only’ promotion designed to give customers a better shot at snagging the bargains they want.
“Shoppers request an invite for discounted items they see on the site — 32% off an Acer Swift X laptop, for example, — and get an email if the deal is still available. A unique link lets them buy the product during the sale, which kicked off Tuesday at 3 a.m. New York time and runs through Wednesday.
“The new promotion adds a kind of lottery effect to some Prime Day bargains and saves Amazon shoppers the hassle of constantly monitoring the site and refreshing their browsers.”
Bloomberg also writes that “the two-day event is off to a strong start, according to Numerator, which monitors Prime Day sales from a pool of 1,500 unique shoppers. The average order size as of noon New York time was $59, up 15.3% from the same period during last year’s sale. Apple watches and Amazon brand toilet paper were among the top-selling products, indicating people are looking for deals on electronics and household items.”
KC’s View:
I wonder how Amazon calculates to whom invitations are sent. Is it in order of requests? That’s probably the safest way to do it, though I’d suggest that in certain areas, Amazon would be better served to issue invitations to its best shoppers.
If one customer spends $500 a year on Amazon, and another customer spends $2,000 a year, and both want the same iPad (top use just one example), shouldn’t the latter customer get priority? Would there be something wrong with such an approach? (There could be legal issues, I suppose, depending on how the language is written. But I think retailers ought to reward best customers, in the same way that airlines prioritize best customers for upgrades.)
The post Amazon Adds Invitation-Only Component To Prime Day Equation appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
