Amazon Prime Day Triggered Early Start to Retail Holiday Shopping Season

Rakuten Marketing Consumer Survey Points to Solid 2017 Retail Season as Consumer Confidence Drives Spend 

The 2017 holiday shopping season is in full gear, and according to Rakuten Marketing, a leading technology company that enables brands to increase sales through data-driven marketing, 92 percent of U.S. consumers have already opened their wallets in support of what the company indicates will be a solid selling period for U.S. retailers. Results and executive comments from the Rakuten Marketing Insights 2017 Consumer Holiday Shopper Survey,conducted in partnership with Qualtrics, were released today. The data reveals consumer shopping and spending expectations, as well as preferences for products, discounts and shipping for the 2017 holiday season.

According to the Rakuten Marketing 2017 Consumer Holiday Shopper Survey, 24 percent of respondents initiated their shopping during the summer period, while 59 percent began holiday shopping in the early fall. Amazon Prime Day, July 12, 2017, helped further influence the early start to the 2017 holiday shopping season. Forty-seven percent of surveyed consumers reportedly shopped on Amazon Prime Day this year, and 42 percent of them said it could affect their holiday spending, while 44 percent said it could make them less likely to shop on other peak shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Amazon reported record sales for July 12, 2017 – a day that outpaced sales figures from both Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2016 combined. Other retailers went head-to-head with Amazon offering their own deals as well.