How Amazon Sold 1 Million Deals in 17 Hours

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Amazon yesterday sold one million daily deals vouchers in 17 hours and didn't need the help of its partner LivingSocial. Between 3 a.m. and 8:11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the AmazonLocal initiative sold out of $10 Amazon gift cards priced at $5.

While it normally leans on LivingSocial's sales staff to create local deals with merchants, AmazonLocal's national gift cards deal didn't warrant such legwork. The two teamed up for a highly successful Whole Foods campaign last September. This time, Amazon simply focused a few of its digital assets to get consumers pressing the "buy" button.

"The popularity of this AmazonLocal deal shows that customers want unique and relevant deals that provide them with an excellent buying experience," an Amazon rep wrote to ClickZ via an email.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant is off to an impressive start with daily deals, a marketplace it entered only nine months ago. It's fair to assume the momentum has gotten the attention of industry leader Groupon.

In particular, Tuesday's success suggests that Amazon has been able to build up a considerable email list for its young initiative. While the gift card offer was mentioned via AmazonLocal's modestly followed Twitter account (2,700 followers), the deal was not pushed via Amazon's Facebook page (3.2 million fans/likes) or chief Twitter account (235,000 followers).

That leaves plenty of credit to email marketing and Amazon's general power in the consumer marketplace.