Prime Day October – ad industry leaders share their insights

The final Amazon Prime Day of the year before the Christmas shopping bonanza is already underway, but with the UK economy in dire straits, will anyone but ’3-pads’ Angela Rayner be in a position to spend?

We’ve asked our adland creatives and adtech leaders for their take on the online marketing discount event and how brands might fair this time around…

Nisha Eapen, Client Relationship Head, Preciso

“Prime Day is probably one of the most popular and longstanding online marketing promotions associated with one single global marketplace brand.

“As a result, Prime Day has a significant impact on the adtech ecosystem. For solution providers who are external to Amazon, like Preciso, we still consider the event insights in media planning, because we have advertisers who are also selling on the Amazon platform.

“It’s useful to observe the specific buying behaviour and trends, because we work with the same vertical, so it can help shine a light on the overall shopper mindset this holiday season.”

Sean Adams, Chief Marketing Officer, Brand Metrics

“As Prime Day approaches, the spotlight often falls on pricing and promotions – but the real winners are the brands that have already earned a place in consumers’ minds.

“In a sea of choice, familiarity and positive perception drive action. That’s why brand building isn’t just a long game – it’s a strategic advantage in moments like these.

“For advertisers, the lead-up to Prime Day is a critical window to reinforce brand associations and emotional relevance. But it’s not enough to hope those efforts land. Measuring brand lift in real time – across channels and formats – helps marketers understand whether their campaigns are truly shifting perception and driving intent.

“At Brand Metrics, we see Prime Day as a litmus test for brand equity. When consumers are primed to buy, the brands they recall and trust are the ones that convert.

“It’s a reminder that performance doesn’t start at the point of purchase – it starts with perception.”

Claire Leon, Head of Commerce, Jellyfish and co-Founder Acorn-i

“An ‘omnichannel plan’ is becoming more and more valuable, as we can start to attribute wider media plans to support core retail events across marketplaces.

“Prime Week in the summer landed where Amazon hoped it would, with strong performance and growth v. Prime Day last year across all categories.

“Proving the consumer appetite for deals remains strong despite a growing consumer savviness in shopping across channels for deals and economic uncertainty.

“Using our proprietary technology, we were able to track where the sales were coming from channel wise.

“Mobile was the dominant transaction channel yet it was the role of AI and social influencers that was truly embraced by consumers – 33% cited being comfortable using AI to help them make their purchase decisions, and traffic from Gen AI was up triple digit % (of course from a modest base).

“Channel specific plans and use of AI measurement technology has never been more important as consumers look to use Agents to inform their product selection.

“Social influencers also played a significant role in driving traffic to the Prime Day event.

“While paid searches remained the top driver of retail sales online (28.5 percent share of revenue, up 5.6 percent YoY), affiliates and partners, which include social media influencers, saw a greater lift (19.9 percent share, up 15 percent YoY).

“We also know that influencers convert shoppers at 10 times the rate of social media overall, so ensuring a smart social media strategy that will support your Prime Days plans.

“On top of that, the more traditional operations, media, and content teams working together remain core focus areas for brands.

“Any strong Prime Day playbook should include all of the following:

Retail Readiness of all promoted ASINs
Pre-event momentum mining
Real-time budget pivoting – allow your media budgets and allocation to be agile throughout the event.