Amazon records its biggest Prime Day ever, with K-beauty products shining

Amazon announced that its two-day 2024 Prime Day was the biggest in the event’s history, with more products sold and record sales compared with any previous Prime Day. K-beauty products were especially popular: sales by Korean K-beauty sellers more than doubled from Prime Day 2023. Several K-beauty products also became bestsellers in Amazon’s U.S., Japan, and Australia stores.

“The strong performance of K-beauty products during this Prime Day is just one example of the tremendous potential K-beauty holds in global markets—and we’re only at the beginning,” said Shin Hwa-sook, head of Amazon Global Selling Korea. “We’re delighted to see continued growth across Amazon stores in multiple countries, from major K-beauty brands to indie brands.” She added, “We will continue working with a range of partners, including government agencies, industry associations, and manufacturers, to support K-beauty’s global expansion and growth.”

According to Amazon, Biodance’s Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask and Anua’s Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil became bestsellers in the U.S. store during Prime Day. K-beauty products also performed notably well in Japan and Australia. In Amazon’s Japan store, VT Cosmetics’ Cica Daily Soothing Mask was named a bestseller.

“Building on its popularity in Korea, Reedle Shot is gaining global recognition and popularity. During this year’s Prime Day, daily sales in Amazon’s U.S. and Japan stores rose more than 20-fold from the June average,” said In Su-jin, head of VT Cosmetics. “We ran active advertising promotions both on and off Amazon, including Prime-exclusive discounts and collaborations with social media influencers.”

Korean indie beauty brands also stood out during this Prime Day, demonstrating steadily growing demand and popularity for niche K-beauty products.

numbuzin recorded a notable sales increase during Prime Day. According to the brand, daily sales during the event were more than 30 times the June average, and sales over the two-day event exceeded its total sales for June. The brand has also expanded its product range in the serum and toner categories, where Korean sellers have a strong presence, and continues to launch new and updated products. The No. 5 Glutathione C Dark Spot Ampoule and No. 5 Glutathione C Dark Spot Film Pad, launched in the second half of last year, reportedly drove sales during this Prime Day.

Indie brands that joined Amazon this year also delivered strong results. “As a new seller on Amazon in 2024, this was our first Prime Day, and daily sales increased more than sixfold during the event,” said Cheong Joy, team lead for North America business at Olive International. “In particular, sales of our three collagen masks, launched exclusively on Amazon to spotlight the products, grew more than 90-fold over the two-day Prime Day event compared with the average daily sales in June.”

Another new Amazon seller, fwee, said daily sales during the two-day Prime Day event rose more than fourfold from the previous month, thanks to increased investment in Amazon advertising and optimized product detail pages.

“With training and manager support from Amazon Global Selling Korea, we prepared for Prime Day step by step. Our Long Active Eyelash Serum became COSNORI’s most popular product during the event,” said Kwak Seong-sin, team lead at COSNORI. “It appears to have resonated with U.S. consumers, who have shown strong interest in K-beauty.”

Through Amazon, Korean sellers can reach hundreds of millions of customers worldwide, including more than 200 million paid Prime members and over 6 million business customers. Last month, Amazon Global Selling Korea announced Project K-Beauty Go Big, a comprehensive package of resources and support for Korean beauty brands looking to expand their online export capabilities and enter global markets through Amazon.

To help Korean sellers prepare for Prime Day 2024, Amazon Global Selling Korea provided tailored guidance through various channels and exclusive Prime Day promotions through Service Provider Network providers—qualified third-party service providers that support sellers on Amazon Marketplace. It also offered extensive support, including account managers who used sales forecast reports to help sellers resolve issues and provide real-time assistance.

“Prime Day is an important event that helps new and existing sellers build brand awareness, gain recognition through customer feedback, and achieve greater success in global markets,” Shin said.

Prime Day 2024 was the biggest shopping event in the event’s history, with more items sold and record sales over the two-day event than at any previous Amazon Prime Day. Independent sellers, including Korean sellers, and especially small and medium-sized businesses, sold a total of 200 million products. Thanks to Amazon’s extensive selection and products offered at their lowest prices of the year, Prime members shopped significantly more than during Prime Day 2023.