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Will ‘Digital Day’ become a mainstay for Amazon?

January 4, 2017Written by Tom Ryan

In another exclusive sales event resembling Prime Day, Amazon.com on December 30 introduced its first-ever “Digital Day” with discounts on “thousands” of digital items across its site. Among the deals were up to 80 percent discounts for video game titles, 50 percent for TV shows and movies, and 75 percent discounts for digital comics. Prices on top music albums were lowered to $5 and to 99 cents for kids' mobile games. Amazon also used the event to promote its own services, including Amazon Music Unlimited, its recently-launched competitive service to Spotify and Apple Music, and Amazon Rapids, its new kids’ reading app. Amazon Music Unlimited was offered at a $10 discount while Amazon Rapids was offered at a 33 percent discount. Other deals were found on e-books and various subscriptions, like the workout channel, Daily Burn, Qello Concerts and UFC Fight Passes. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2016, TurboTax, Norton and H&R Block were among the software and services receiving discounts. The promotion was seen as a way to drive a post-holiday boost following a strong holiday season for Amazon with a tie-in to the digital devices many had received as gifts. Wrote Sarah Perez for TechCrunch. “Amazon’s digital items complement those newly acquired smartphones, tablets, computers, gaming consoles, and more, by helping consumers fill them with content.” The promotional event was seen as similar to Prime Day, held for the second straight year on July 12. For 2016 Prime Day, customers placed 60 percent more orders worldwide and 50 percent more orders in the U.S. compared to the first year. Amazon claims the day drives more sales than Black Friday. While less hyped than Prime Day, the exclusive nature of Digital Day was expected to attract new customers and introduce many to Amazon’s exclusive services.

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