Amazon Prime Day discovers success amid tariffs, consumer concerns

Amazon Prime Day sales initially looked bumpy in comparisons over the first two days of this week. By Friday, however, early data showed solid sales from the tech giant despite economic uncertainty.

The Seattle-based e-commerce company has a somewhat diluted annual online sales jackpot. What used to be a one-day event has quickly become two days. This year, Amazon has grown over four days from Tuesday to Friday. Since 2022, the company has replicated the event at its Prime Big Days event in October.

Amazon Beat Back reported on Wednesday that sales had declined from the previous year. Momentum Commerce, an e-commerce consultancy, reported sales for the sellers it manages fell 41% from the first day of the event in 2024.

Momentum CEO John Shea told Bloomberg that shoppers were waiting for the bystanders on the first day before jumping on sale later in the week. Amazon said the number of Momentums is inaccurate.

More data from momentum shows that Shea’s theory of consumer sentiment was correct. The company reported that sales on the third day had increased by 165% from the previous year.

Adobe Digital Insights reported better numbers across e-commerce on Tuesday. The e-commerce tracker reported that US online shoppers spent $7.9 billion on Tuesday, up almost 10% from a similar day last year.

Monogatari, a consumer analytics company, tracks Prime Day sales annually through validated buyer research. The average household rose over the week, eventually reaching $156.37, from $152.33 in 2024. Most households ordered multiple orders at an average order price of $53.34, from $57.97 the previous year.

This year’s Prime Day was the first time since President Donald Trump implemented a swept fee that seriously affects countries like China, where many of the sellers that make up Amazon’s online marketplace are based.

During the revenue call in early May, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy dealt with tariffs and said the company has not yet risen in the average selling price of retail items. That was almost a month after Trump’s release date was announced.

Jassy pulled some of it up to the company before the tariffs came into effect, staying with the fact that sellers have not yet hiked the prices.

The company was also optimistic that tariffs would not have a significant impact on sales as Amazon’s marketplaces become increasingly popular with everyday and essential items. Jassy argued that Amazon can keep those retail items at a lower cost than its competitors.

“If, like us, we have the widest range of options and like us, we have over 2 million global sellers, it would be better to help our customers find important items at a lower price than elsewhere,” he said.

This week’s molecular data shows Amazon’s steady growth in categories such as household essentials, beauty and cosmetics, pet products, and groceries. Apart from apparel and shoes, these were some of the most popular categories during Prime Day.

As of Thursday, the Premier Protein Shakes were the best selling items, followed by Dawn Platinum Powerwash and Liquid IV packets, according to Numerator.

Amazon also faces competition every year from Target and Walmart. Target’s ran on Saturday from July 6th, while Walmart ran from Tuesday to Sunday.

Almost 50% of the buyers surveyed by the molecule planned to shop for Walmart deals, while 35% planned for Target sales events.

Before the week of trading from e-commerce companies, Adobe predicted a record $23.8 billion in online spending from July 8th to 11th, with discounts expected to remain at historically high levels.

Last year, Amazon reported that Prime Day had generated record revenue of $14.2 billion over two days.

2025 Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.