US consumers spent ~$24.1 billion online, exceeding projections and more than doubling 2024’s Black Friday sales
Record‑breaking scale: Amazon’s four‑day event (July 8–11) became its biggest ever, delivering record sales, savings across over 35 categories, and especially strong momentum in electronics, beauty, household goods, and groceries
Extended format shifted behaviors: With four full days of deals, shoppers browsed more slowly, converted later in the week, and price‑checked across retailers rather than buying impulsively
AI‑powered discovery tools helped Amazon: Features like Alexa+, Rufus, and AI Shopping Guides drove personalization. Generative‑AI traffic rose by 3,300% YoY to retail sites
Advertising demand ramped up: Amazon encouraged brands to double ad‑spend during Prime Day, with increases of ~25% pre-event and 100% during it—boosting click-throughs and visibility, especially for early promoted placements
Tariffs squeezed margins and seller participation: Rising import costs led some third‑party sellers to limit discounts or opt out, while others used Prime Day to clear inventory before tariff hikes
Competitive Landscape & Retailer Responses
Cross‑retailer browsing: About 53% of consumers intentionally visited non‑Amazon sites during Prime Day. Combined with aggressive competitor deals, this helped boost total online sales ~30% YoY across the landscape.
TikTok Shop (“Deals for You Days” spanning ~13 days)
and others aligned their own events around July 6–19
Open vs Prime‑only access: Unlike Amazon’s Prime‑member‑exclusive deals, retailers like Walmart and Target opened sales to all, appealing to non-Prime shoppers and offering loyalty perks .
TikTok Shop’s livestream push: TikTok ran a long, influencer-driven livestream event, offering cash-back incentives if customers found lower prices, plus payment perks via Venmo.
