Amazon Bets Big On Creators for Prime Day 2023

Amazon Prime Day, one of the biggest shopping events of the year, has arrived. Since its inception in 2015, when it generated just under $1 billion, Prime Day has consistently increased its sales each year, culminating in over $12 billion in sales last year. This year's event is also expected to see a surge in sales. In recent years, creators have played a significant role in Amazon's Prime Day strategy, and this year is no exception.

Here's a glimpse of how Amazon has been preparing creators for Prime Day.

How Amazon Has Been Prepping & Supporting Creators

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• Recruiting Creators: Amazon has been running several Instagram ads aimed at recruiting creators for the Amazon Influencer Program in recent weeks. These ads prompt creators to take advantage of the increased earnings that influencers typically see for Prime Day. Namely, influencers earned 17 times more on average per day during Prime Day 2022 compared to their average for the rest of 2022. Talking head-style ads featuring college influencers like Darcy McQueeny have also been featured, highlighting the benefits of being in the program, which include the ability to share products and earn money, all in between classes.

Amazon

• Educating and Guiding Creators: Amazon has been helping creators maximize their earnings on Prime Day. This includes creator-produced short-form videos (it's even leveraging the newly launched Threads), resources, early access to deals, insight into what products typically sell best, and webinars and live events that walk creators through everything related to Prime Day.

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• Highlighting Other Ways for Creators to Earn: In addition to its standard program, Amazon is promoting lesser-known, newer initiatives like Creator Connections. This new initiative is a program that connects creators directly with brands, allowing them to unlock bonus commissions on top of standard Amazon commissions. Another initiative, Creator Ads, lets creators opt-in to allow Amazon to use content posted to their Amazon Storefront page as ads across Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Amazon’s own properties. They also earn a commission when shoppers click on the ad and make a purchase, similar to TikTok's recently launched Creative Challenge program.

• Launching New Tools and Features: Creators have access to new tools and features to utilize to create content. For example, creators now have the ability to save a draft of their Idea Lists, which include their recommended products. Previously, these lists had to be created in real-time, which was often time-consuming. There is also a new Influencer Hub, where creators can access resources and performance metrics from the convenience of their phones. Plus, Amazon launched exclusive Prime Day Instagram Story filters and TikTok effects that creators can use in their content to make it more engaging, with some filters and effects featuring specific products.

The Benefits that Inspire Will Likely Bring To Creators and Brands

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This year will mark the first time that Inspire, Amazon's in-app, TikTok-like feature, will be live. With Inspire, creators can earn commissions by directly posting content via their personalized feed. Because Inspire's algorithm favors videos with Prime Day products and shoppers are already coming to the app to make their purchases, this more streamlined experience should help generate more sales for creators who leverage it.

Inspire will also function as a testing ground for brands that allocate dollars to creators to promote their products available on Amazon. Because Inspire is widely available now, some brands are likely choosing to run campaigns through the app in order to take advantage of increased visibility and an easier shopping experience.

Increased Competition and a Desire for Curation

Amazon's even bigger investment in Prime Day creators this year is likely a result of more competition from Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Each store is having their own shopping event that overlaps with Prime Day. Walmart Plus Week runs from 7/10-7/13; Target Circle Week runs from 7/9-7/15; Best Buy’s Black Friday in July runs from 7/10-7/12. Each store also has its own creator program. This includes Walmart that launched its Walmart Creator platform last year. Based on social media posts, all three retailers are leveraging their creator networks to promote the events, but specific details aren't as readily available as Amazon’s more established initiatives.

By investing heavily in creators, Amazon can spread the word about deals through creators and, more importantly, have creators provide curation. With thousands and thousands of products on sale during this time, it's impossible for shoppers to know every detail. With creators providing curated recommendations, shoppers can make more informed, personalized decisions.

Lastly, share of voice, which is ultimately how much brand awareness a company has compared to its competitors, is also an important factor as it can increase the chances of conversions. With an oversaturation of deals during this time, Amazon’s share of voice is likely much higher. This is thanks to help from creators, traditional marketing, and organic word of mouth. 

As TikTok dives deeper into e-commerce with TikTok Shop, its own line of products, an affiliate program for creators, and new initiatives like Trendy Beats, I predict that TikTok will join Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy with its own annual, big shopping event that is supported by creators. It would add another layer to summer shopping if and when this happens.

What Brands Can Learn From Amazon

Amazon's rollout of support for creators can also be a blueprint for what brands can do with their influencer programs, especially for tentpole moments. Many of the components, like empowering creators through brand and creator-provided tips and guides, hosting webinars to provide in-depth information on a program, and the opportunity for creators to ask specific questions, could be helpful models for other brands.

Amazon’s Impact on the Greater Creator Economy

A lot of creators have Amazon storefronts, push Amazon links, and earn commissions from Amazon sales, making Amazon a notable revenue stream for creators. I'm curious to see how much revenue creators are earning in total from Amazon creator initiatives. If it's a notable number, which I expect it to be, it could be a good way for Amazon to get even more creators to sign on to its creator programs. This would help to drive more sales and showcase its contributions to the creator economy.