Amazon Prime Day sales beat Black Friday

Amazon's 24-hour summer sale for Prime members, called Prime Day, appears to have been a major success for the online retailer. Product orders exceeded that of last year's Black Friday sale which was open to all Amazon customers (not just Prime members), reports the company. But the purpose of Prime Day wasn't so much about generating a large influx of revenue in the short term as it was about generating awareness about its members-only shopping program Prime. Shoppers were able to participate in Prime Day without a subscription by signing up for a free trial, which allowed them to experience all of the shipping perks and discounts that members experience on a daily basis.

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In fact, Amazon likely lost money on Prime Day because of the steep discounts, but that risk could pay off in the long run by converting more shoppers to Prime memberships. Members of Prime who spend more money on Amazon on average than non-Prime members, according to a report from Millward Brown.

• Prime members spend about $1,500 with Amazon each year, while non-Prime members spend about $625 with the retailer annually.
• Prime members are also much less likely to shop at other retail websites in a single shopping session than non-members.

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Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.