On the heels of Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale event, we’re studying over 55,000 transactions sold by Fat Kid Deals to see which items and trends were popular. In anticipation of the deal event, we predicted that hygiene, home improvement, and grocery purchases would steal the spotlight.
As it turns out, amongst the always in-demand electronics category, home goods of all kinds were highly sought after. From top to bottom, we saw items such as indoor grills, air purifiers, and home workout equipment emerge as the admired.
Key Takeaways From Prime Early Access Sale Results
- Home-related purchases showed increased from Prime Day in July. Several home categories beat their first Prime Day performances, including Patio, Lawn & Garden, Power & Hand Tools, Home Entertainment, and Health & Household.
- Several key items were discounted by up to 80% off. Amazon sellers appear to be feeling the increase in warehouse fees for the holiday season as hOmelabs, Cloud Massage and even Amazon itself had their top products at 20% of their retail price.
- Our first Prime Day of 2022 was roughly 18% larger than the Prime Early Access Sale. As we expected, categories such as Cell Phones & Accessories and Furniture saw steep declines from their July demand.
Expected Performance Vs. Reality
It was rumored that Amazon expected a lower sales volume for the Prime Early Access Sale event than its Prime Day in July. Despite this forecast, we saw several home-related categories outperform their sales from the first Prime Day. While categories such as cell phones and accessories were down significantly, the following categories were some of the “Prime Day 2” victors.
Top Category Performances vs. Prime Day In July
As an Amazon Affiliate, we had the benefit of comparing sales performance from the first Prime Day in July and this most recent second Prime Early Access Sale. The data clearly showed that while our sales for Prime Day 1 were larger overall, there were plenty of brands and categories that had a better show in October than in July.
| Amazon Category | Performance Comparison |
| Video Games | +66% |
| Patio, Lawn & Garden | +39% |
| Sports & Fitness | +24% |
| Power & Hand Tools | +9% |
| Home Entertainment | +8% |
The video game category saw much of its success from sales of the Meta Quest Pro and Pokemon edition Nintendo Switch. In Patio, Lawn & Garden grill products were in demand with the Blackstone and Traeger brands selling well. Other popular products in these categories were the RIF6 Exercise Bike, BLACK+DECKER Cordless Drill, and TCL 55″ Roku TV.
While there were plenty of over-performers, some categories didn’t see their Prime Day results matched. Here are the four categories that saw the steepest decline when compared to the event in July.
| Amazon Category | Performance Comparison |
| Cell Phones & Accessories | -64% |
| Beauty & Grooming | -43% |
| Furniture | -34% |
| Electronic Components & Home Audio | -17% |
While these categories sold less for us during the Prime Early Access Sale than Prime Day, we expect most of them to perform better in the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday events. When consumers think of these November shopping holidays, these are typically the categories that come to mind, whereas things like home improvement and sports/fitness tend to take a back seat.
Best Deals From FKD Prime Early Access Sale Event
Now for the question everyone always asks. What was the most popular deal of this entire Prime Early Access Sale event? After reviewing a huge amount of deal snags, a familiar product once again attracted consumers. The fan-favorite hOmelabs smokeless indoor electric grill claimed the #1 most popular deal based on our study of 55,000+ purchases.
We saw this item discounted down to $24.99 during the event. This is a far cry from its retail price of $119.99. This kitchen appliance led the way for incredible home goods’ deals, but it certainly wasn’t the only one.
Early data from our sales of the “second Prime Day” event shows widespread interest in products you’d find at home. Here is a plethora of home goods that were in our top 25 most-purchased products.
- Air Purifiers: The Veva 8000 was on sale for $41.44 (retail: $139)
- Comforters: The Beckham Hotel Collection was on sale for $15.47 (retail: $59)
- Foot Massagers: The Cloud Massage was on sale for $68.57 (retail: $350)
- Flushable Wet Wipes: The DUDE wipes were on sale for $7.18 (retail: $15)
- Electric Groin Hair Trimmer: The MANSCAPED was on sale for $48.99 (retail: $70)
- Fish Oil: Nature’s Bounty was on sale for $5.99 (retail $40)
- Teeth Whitening: The Crest strip kit was on sale for $29.99 (retail: $46)
- Power Drill: The BLACK+DECKER was on sale for $39.99 (retail: $99)
As you can see, some of the biggest deals of the Prime Early Access Sale results were not the big, sexy purchases that you typically see around other shopping holidays. This event’s spend was focused on practicality as Black Friday is nearly one month away and the economy is showing signs of decline via layoffs and hiked mortgage rates.
Despite an increase in attention to necessities, there was still plenty of gift-buying and personal treating in the data. Several electronics and toys made their way on sale and consumers responded favorably. Here are some of the more “typical” deal snags that were most popular.
- Funko Pop! Bobbleheads: A Star Wars and NBA Stephen Curry were on sale and the Blank Panther Funko was available for pre-order
- Headphones: The Apple AirPods were on sale for $89.99 (retail: $159)
- Headphones: The Beats Studio3 were on sale for $149.99 (retail: $350)
- TVs: The Fire TV 55″ was on sale for $109.99 (retail: $550)
These are just a few of the highly-purchased “wants” items. In our years of deal sourcing and analyzing, we’ve learned that even if consumers are initially resistant, they just can’t pass up a great electronics or toy deal. When you can buy a 55-inch TV for the normal price of a 32-inch one, you’re going to be interested, whether you “need” one or not.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Outlook
What Does This Mean For Black Friday/Cyber Monday? Typically Prime Day is a summer event, which allows for plenty of time for shoppers to save up more money and buy holiday gifts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. After all, Amazon had only organized one Prime Fall event prior to the Prime Early Access Sale. So what does this mean for the deal events only a month and a half away?
Based on the type of sales we saw from our Prime Early Access Sale results, the “Turkey 5” deal events involving Black Friday and Cyber Monday should be relatively unaffected. Where we saw mostly home goods purchases during this Prime event, we expect the opposite from the upcoming shopping sprees. All of your favorite electronics, kid’s toys and perfect gift material items should be heavily discounted and more popular as the holidays get closer.
Why Are Deals At An All-Time High In 2022?
If you’ve been wondering why there’ve been so many great deals this year, you’re not crazy. There are many factors playing a role. First and possibly the strongest factor, Amazon hiked its seller’s fees for the upcoming holiday season. This increase was unprecedented, so it caught many sellers by surprise. If holding your products in an Amazon warehouse costs you more than you expected, you’re inclined to sell, even at a lower price than you planned. After coupling this spike with stalled economy factors such as inflation and interest rates, it’s not surprising that brands are offering 60, 70 and for some, even 80% off their most popular products.
Will Deals Stay This Competitive In 2023?
Will these deals continue into 2023 and beyond? Are these amazing deals here to stay? We think that after the 2022 holiday season, this level of dramatic price drops and coupons will fade. More importantly, we’re not sure if we’ll ever see them again. As the old saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me. Amazon sellers and brands in general now understand that, when necessary, Amazon will increase seller fees to combat rising warehouse costs and other expenses.
Data Sources
All data referenced in this recap was obtained from the Fat Kid Deals Amazon Associates’ account and our Twitter account. Our predictions are founded on this year’s sales from the Prime Early Access Sale results as well as Prime Day and other shopping events from previous years. All transactions were sold by Fat Kid Deals, we did not use any third-party sales data.