It’s been almost 36 hours after the 36-hour Amazon Prime Day event, so let’s see how the whole thing played out — and what’s in store for holiday shopping season ahead.
Prime Day got off to a shaky start, with reported website glitches and product page redirects that sparked a tweetstorm from frustrated shoppers on social media.
Though some shoppers felt like they were getting the short end of the stick, Amazon was quick to turn the conversation around by engaging audiences in another way.
Dogs. Adorable, adorable dogs.
Each time users encountered an error, shoppers would be greeted by an Amazon dog, along with an apology. Shoppers were quick to share their experiences online, turning what was originally a negative narrative into something a little bit more light-hearted.
It was a cool move from a customer service standpoint — and the choice of content was an authentic one. Dogs have always been a part of the Amazon company culture. Part of their employee mission is to provide an inclusive environment for dogs and their owners. A 2017 blog post from the company said there were 6,000 dogs on the Amazon team at the time, across 30 Amazon offices.
We’ve written before on the importance of brands managing response in times of crisis. Amazon’s site going down on their own self-created shopping holiday could have been just that. Instead, Amazon responded in a way that was engaging, collected, and true to their overall brand mission.
And despite the hiccup, the dogs of Amazon managed to fetch the eCommerce giant a win on Prime Day. According to a release from Amazon following the event, more than 100 million products were sold worldwide. Small and mid-size businesses saw more than $1 billion in sales. Other large retailers saw considerable Prime Day gains, with Adobe reporting a 54 percent increase in sales.
Social engagement surrounding the brand was also high (around 80 percent, according to Adobe), with #DogsofAmazon taking much of the spotlight.
“Amazon’s site glitches didn’t negatively impact sales, with the company revealing sales were higher than ever,” Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement “And photos of employees’ pups successfully mitigated some of the negative sentiment around the online retailer’s site difficulties.”
According to Adobe, strong mid-year gains could mean even bigger wins for retailers as the holiday season approaches. In their latest Digital Dollar report, Adobe predicts a 19 percent year-over-year growth for Labor Day weekend — which would make it the first $2 billion holiday for retailers in 2018.
