Will Amazon’s Big Spring Sale Be a Boon to Spring Retailing?

Amazon announced plans to introduce its first-ever Big Spring Sale running from March 20 through March 25, becoming the platform’s third major strategic selling event of the year.

The two other events — summer’s Prime Day and fall’s Prime Big Deal Days — last two days each and are reserved for Prime members. The six-day Big Spring Sale event is available for all shoppers, although Prime members get exclusive offers.

In its press release, Amazon promised significant savings on “seasonally relevant” items, including up to 50% off select beauty, sports, and outdoor products as well as up to 40% off select home products, spring apparel, and electronics. Savings will also be offered on Amazon devices like Echo and Kindle. New deals will be released each day over the six-day event.

News of the Big Spring Sale earned wide media coverage ranging from NBC News to GQ, People, and Travel & Leisure.

The Big Spring Sale could boost sales in a slow period for retail. Major spring shopping days around late March include St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, with U.S. spending expected to reach $7.2 billion and $22 billion this year, respectively, according to the National Retail Federation.

Prime Day, which debuted in 2015, is seen as a way to prop up sales during slow summer months, while Prime Big Deal Days, which first took place in 2022 under the name Prime Early Access, helps jumpstart holiday selling.

The additional shopping holiday could also be an opportunity for third-party sellers on the Amazon Marketplace. Other stores may also offer deals around the Big Spring Sale in the future should the event continue, as expected. Several retailers regularly offer competing sales during the summer and move up sales in October to align with Amazon’s Prime Day and Big Deal Days events.

One risk is that a third shopping holiday could dilute the impact of Amazon’s other events, although Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days continue to outperform.

Adobe reported that last year’s Prime Day Sales event, held July 11 to 12, netted a record $12.7 billion in the U.S., up 6.1% year over year. Amazon said that the first day of Prime Day last year was its single largest sales day ever. Numerator reported that last year’s Prime Big Deal Days event, held Oct. 10 to 11, was Amazon’s second most successful sales event ever, behind 2023’s summer Prime Day.