Ecommerce has been transforming the retail experience for over two decades. Where images of camp chairs and tents lining up outside electronics and big-box stores on Thanksgiving night were once iconic, today we add items to our carts and track prices from the comfort of our homes. For many ecommerce giants shaping the holiday shopping season, urgency is giving way to access and convenience. Nowhere is this shift more evident than during Amazon deal days.
In this article, we take a comprehensive dive into 2024's Amazon Holiday Deal Days exploring its evolution and breaking down why these events are a critical opportunity for brands, not just on Amazon but across all major ecommerce marketplaces. By examining Spreetail’s record-breaking performance metrics, you’ll see firsthand how strategic deal planning during the holiday season can drive substantial revenue growth, increase brand visibility, and create lasting customer loyalty.
The Origins and Impact of Amazon's Holiday Deal Days
Amazon’s holiday strategy has evolved over the years to align with shifting consumer behaviors, such as earlier shopping and the growth of ecommerce.
- 2005-2010: The launch of Prime Membership in 2005 set the stage for fast, reliable shipping, becoming a key driver of ecommerce growth. During this period, Amazon’s holiday sales focused solely on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- 2010-2015: Amazon began redefining holiday shopping by experimenting with early deals and stretching promotions, combining discounts with fast delivery to solidify its leadership in holiday ecommerce. The introduction of Prime Day in 2015 demonstrated the potential of non-traditional shopping events, while the company coined “Turkey 5” to describe the critical shopping period surrounding Thanksgiving.
- 2016-2020: Building on consumer demand for early shopping, Amazon introduced an 11-day Black Friday promotional period (T11). During the 2020 pandemic this trend accelerated, with Amazon expanding to Turkey12 (T12)—a full 12-day shopping window. This shift reflected the growing preference for early and extended holiday shopping, aligning with consumer behaviors and creating new revenue opportunities.
- 2021-Present: Deal days such as Prime Day and T12 have evolved into a cornerstone of Amazon’s holiday strategy, offering brands unparalleled access to millions of shoppers. The extended shopping period boosts traffic, conversion rates, and overall sales while helping Amazon dominate the holiday ecommerce landscape.
For many brands, these deal days account for a significant share of annual sales as brands leverage deal-seeking consumer traffic and conversion surges. The competitive nature of these events pushes brands to differentiate themselves, and by doing so they can attract new customers while fostering loyalty that extends beyond the holiday season.
- Sales Volume: In recent years, some brands reported up to 40% of their yearly sales during the holiday selling period.
- Category Growth: Electronics, toys, and home improvement categories saw demand spikes of 35%–50% compared to the rest of Q4.
- Fulfillment Metrics: Amazon's FBA system has been pivotal in maintaining high standards for delivery, with average click-to-delivery times under 2 days.
- Conversion Rates: Products with high visibility and discounts often see conversion rate lifts of 20%-50%.
- Traffic Growth: Amazon experienced a traffic surge of over 110% from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, bringing millions of additional visitors to the platform.
- Prime-Eligible Purchases: Amazon has reported that over 70% of purchases were Prime-eligible, underscoring the importance of fast and reliable fulfillment.
- High-Ticket Items: People are 20%-60% more likely to purchase expensive products during the holidays, depending on the product category and promotional strategies – especially for those priced over $500.
Spreetail 2024 Turkey12 Performance
As we entered the 2024 Turkey 12 season, several major changes reshaped the way we approached this critical sales period, directly impacting our performance and growth.
- Extended Deal Opportunities: For the first time, Spreetail took advantage of Amazon’s full 12-day Turkey12 event, significantly expanding the traditional Turkey5 timeframe. This extended period created new opportunities for sellers to run promotions but also came with a key requirement: participating in Turkey12 became mandatory to maintain deal badging within the platform. This shift highlighted the importance of strategic planning and robust inventory management for brands to stay competitive.
- Enhanced Deal Badging: This year, Spreetail brands achieved unprecedented visibility across Amazon, Target, and Walmart during Turkey12. For the first time, each channel featured one of our products in its top placements during the traditional Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. Building on our success from Q4 2023, where we won ‘Top Deal’ badges, Spreetail secured ‘Top Deal’ badging for over 40 products during Amazon’s Turkey12 event—further solidifying our notion of best-selling products.
- Quality and Quantity of Deals: Our ability to source and execute impactful deals reached new heights in 2024. In 2023, Spreetail ran just under 500 deals across all channels with an average discount of 18%. This year, thanks to the strategic efforts of our marketing operations team, we ran an impressive 1,800 deals at an average discount of 24%, generating over $7 million in potential incremental revenue for our brand partners.
2024 – Record Breaking Sales
- 40% YoY sales growth.
- Sales on Amazon outpaced other channels by 10%.
- Purchases over $500 saw a 44% YoY lift.
- Despite a surge in promotions, average prices were only 1.5% lower.
- Traffic surged 110% from Wednesday night through Black Friday, bringing 2.5 million additional visitors to Spreetail's platform.
Brand Highlight – Golden Designs
- Spreetail’s best performing deal by GMV
- Highlighted on Amazon’s Deals Page
- Gained ‘Overall Pick’ banner
- Fulfilled 29 LTL deliveries (truckloads)
- Outperformed forecast by over $1million
Brand Highlight – Razor
- Accounted for 19% of our Walmart sales during Cyber 5
- Marked Razor’s 3rd largest sales day during Black Friday
- Received Walmart Best Seller and Cyber Deal badging
Brand Highlight – Arcade1Up
- Placed on Target’s home page on Black Friday
- Was offered at 25% off, however margins increased 10% YoY
- Became Target’s 2nd largest brand
As Amazon Deal Days continue to grow in prominence, it has become an essential period for ecommerce brands looking to maximize revenue, boost visibility, and capitalize on one of the most lucrative shopping windows of the year. Their signature 12-day event has redefined how retailers approach holiday sales.
As we look to the future, the evolving nature of T12 will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in ecommerce, setting new benchmarks for the entire industry. For any brand looking towards next year’s holiday selling season and the T12 Amazon event, contact our team to see how our promotions experts and prepare you for success.
Digital Marketer
