Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s upcoming Prime Day event is expected to generate nearly $22 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) over four days, according to Bank of America, as the company uses the annual shopping promotion to highlight its artificial intelligence-powered shopping tools.
Amazon's 12th annual Prime Day begins on June 23 and runs through June 26, maintaining the 96-hour format introduced last year but shifting from its traditional July timing. The event will feature millions of deals across more than 35 categories, including electronics, apparel, beauty, grocery and travel.
Bank of America analysts estimate Prime Day sales will reach about $21.6 billion in GMV, representing growth of approximately 5% from a year earlier. The analysts noted that year-over-year comparisons are affected by Prime Day events in Japan and Australia taking place later this summer, which they estimate could reduce growth by 3% to 4%.
The bank projects first-party Prime Day GMV to increase 4.5% year over year to $11.6 billion, while third-party GMV is expected to rise 5% to $10 billion. The analysts estimate the event could contribute $12.4 billion in incremental second-quarter GMV and $8.5 billion in additional revenue.
Bank of America also highlighted Amazon's efforts to promote its Alexa for Shopping assistant during the event. The AI-powered feature can provide personalized product recommendations, display up to 365 days of price history, set price alerts and automatically purchase items once users' target prices are reached.
The bank wrote that Alexa for Shopping could help Amazon maintain direct customer traffic, improve conversion rates and increase spending on the platform over time. The analysts estimate the service could generate more than $200 billion in incremental GMV and $20 billion in additional retail profit by 2035.
Bank of America also pointed to solid second-quarter retail spending trends and momentum in Amazon Web Services, writing that it continues to expect Amazon's second-quarter revenue to come in at or above the high end of the company's guidance range of $199 billion.
The bank maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on Amazon, writing that Prime Day remains an important branding event that showcases the benefits of Prime membership while helping the company gain share in online retail despite competing promotional events from Walmart and Target.
Amazon shares are up more than 5% so far this year, trading at $243 on Thursday afternoon.