Retailers Achieve $7.9 Billion in Online Sales During First 24 Hours of Prime Day

U.S. online sales surged by 9.9% year-over-year, reaching $7.9 billion on the first day of Amazon’s Prime Day sale, as reported by Adobe Analytics. This event is noted as the largest single e-commerce day of the year thus far, surpassing last year’s Thanksgiving online spending, which totaled $6.1 billion. Amazon’s Prime Day, which began on Tuesday and runs through Friday, started in 2015 to attract new Prime members and has prompted competitors to roll out their own promotional events. Walmart launched a six-day deals event coinciding with Prime Day, while Target’s Circle Week began earlier in the week.

Additionally, Best Buy introduced a Black Friday in July promotion, marking a strategic effort by these retailers to attract consumers during this sales period. Demand for home and outdoor goods was notable on the first day of the event, according to Kashif Zafar, CEO of Xnurta, an advertising platform that supports over 20,000 online businesses. While traditional strong-performing categories like beauty and household essentials exhibited weaker initial demand, Zafar indicated this might change as the event progresses. He emphasized that although early numbers may seem underwhelming compared to last year, the lengthening of Prime Day to four days allows consumers to spread out their purchases differently.

Adobe predicts total online sales across all retailers will reach $23.8 billion during this 96-hour event, equating to the sales seen on two Black Fridays. Last year, U.S. online shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the 48-hour Prime Day. This year’s event arrives at a delicate time for retailers and consumers amid uncertainties stemming from President Trump’s tariff policies, which have led to fluctuating consumer confidence. Despite concerns, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy mentioned that prices on the platform have not seen significant increases due to tariffs, although some third-party sellers have adjusted prices on goods sourced from China to account for rising costs.