Yesterday marked Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN - Analyst Report) second annual Prime Day, a Black-Friday like grand sales event that was exclusively open to Amazon Prime subscribers. Shoppers around the world flocked to the site in a bid to grab highly discounted deals such as a tablet for just $33.33, a Lenovo laptop for only $199.99 or a Samsung curved 55-inch TV for $650 which is nearly half of its original value.

Checkout Glitches in Amazon Goldrush

Although the mega event was a success, many customers were left empty-handed and frustrated as overloading made checkout difficult. Many got an “add to cart fail” message while trying to scoop up deals. In response to the issue, Amazon reverted on Twitter, Inc. (TWTR) saying “Some customers are reporting difficulty with checkout. We’re working to resolve the issue quickly.”

Reportedly, shoes and toys were the two segments that saw the greatest number of hits as more than 196,000 pairs of shoes and 270,000 toys flew off the shelves within the first few hours of the event. Additionally, the limited-time “lightning deals” also witnessed great consumer interest.

AMAZON.COM INC Price

AMAZON.COM INC Price | AMAZON.COM INC Quote

Prime Day to Boost Offseason Sales

Amazon organized Prime Day last year to commemorate its 20th anniversary. This is the second year that the e-commerce giant has organized the event in a bid to create a summertime event to boost off-season sales and rake in more Prime members.

In order to generate interest in Prime Day, Amazon started offering a smaller palette of “countdown” deals since Jul 5 on items such as vacuum cleaners, laptops and protein supplements.

It’s no surprise, why Amazon is pushing so hard to foster interest in Prime Day as it gives customers a reason to shop in an otherwise soft selling season. 

Prime Day Numbers

According to ChannelAdvisor, an e-commerce software company, it was reported by early afternoon that revenues for this Prime Day were in line with revenues of the previous one.

According to Deborah Weinswig, an analyst at FBIC, Prime Day this time around could generate $515 million in sales, reflecting 26% growth over its 2015 estimate of $415 million.

Competition

Apart from Amazon, some retail bigwigs such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT -Analyst Report) and Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY - Analyst Report) have also joined the bandwagon with their offerings. While Walmart is offering free shipping on all purchases till Jul 15, Best Buy is offering deals for non-members.

Zacks Rank

At present, Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A better-ranked stock in the broader technology sector is Stamps.com Inc. (STMP- Snapshot Report) sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>