Radio Powered Amazon Prime Day 2018

A week ago, Amazon held their fourth annual Prime Day sale. True to form, it was a blockbuster event launched with mass reach television and AM/FM radio advertising. Overall, 18% of Americans reported making a purchase.

Westwood One commissioned IPSOS to examine purchasing during the 36-hour event, which began at 3PM on Monday, July 16th and continued to Tuesday, July 17th. IPSOS surveyed 2,010 Americans 18 and over with an online survey during and after the event.

Here are key findings from the IPSOS study:

• The Amazon Prime Day TV campaign over delivered older consumers who did not purchase. Online and AM/FM delivered a more even audience distribution. Those who recalled having seen online and AM/FM radio advertising for the Prime Day were equally distributed among 18-34 Millennials, 35-54 Gen X, and 55+ Boomers. Those that recalled having seen the Prime Day television campaign skewed decidedly older. Almost half were over the age of 55.

• AM/FM radio and online did the best job of converting awareness into purchases. Among those that recalled online ads for Amazon Prime Day, 26% made a purchase. 25% of those that recalled AM/FM radio Prime Day advertising made purchases. A smaller number of those who were aware of Prime Day TV ads (22%) made a purchase. Among 18-49 year olds, AM/FM radio had the highest conversion of awareness to purchase.

• Frequent listeners to AM/FM radio programming formats were 61% more likely to make an Amazon Prime Day purchase. While 18% of 18+ Americans made an Amazon Prime Day 2018 purchase, 29% of radio listeners who are frequent listeners to key radio programming formats made a purchase.

• Full time employment and having kids in the home makes AM/FM radio the engine of e-commerce. According to Nielsen, the vast majority of AM/FM radio listening comes from Americans with a full time job. AM/FM radio is the soundtrack of the American worker. Most AM/FM radio programming formats over index with homes with children.

Amazon Prime Day 2018 is the latest example revealing AM/FM radio listeners are much more likely to use e-commerce. In the 2015 study, IPSOS revealed that AM/FM radio had one of the highest conversions of awareness to purchase. Another IPSOS study conducted for e-commerce site Jet.com found AM/FM radio listeners purchased at a higher rate.

Those who are full time employed and from homes with kids were far more likely to purchase on Amazon Prime Day 2018. Versus the average, full time employed consumers were 44% more likely to purchase. Households with kids were 50% more likely to purchase.