Executive Briefing
Why Prime Day works
People are already shopping online. But Amazon’s cheesy holiday helps turn shoppers into buyers.
As you’re probably aware, we’re now more than halfway through Amazon’s expanded annual “Prime Day” extravaganza of global impulse-purchasing. It is the sort of unabashed capitalistic stunt, ridiculous in concept — a made-up holiday for a website! — that makes the eyes roll.
But Prime Day has also become an impressive cultural spectacle, complete with wall-to-wall coverage, international ad campaigns, and, for whatever reason, a Taylor Swift concert.
And the crazy — or silly, or smart — thing is that it works.
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Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.
I’m a longtime tech and business journalist, and I’m excited to focus my attention on how technology continues to profoundly change how things are created, experienced, bought, and sold. The New Consumer is supported entirely by your membership — join now to receive my reporting, analysis, and commentary directly in your inbox, via my twice-weekly, member-exclusive newsletter. Thanks in advance.