Amazon Closes the Books on Record-Setting Prime Day Sales

Online shoppers spent a record $24.1 billion during Amazon.com Inc.’s annual Prime Day sales event, a more than 30% increase from a year ago, according to data compiled by Adobe Analytics, which tracks the epic sales event.

The final sales tally for the four-day extravaganza was more than twice what online shoppers generated on Black Friday during the 2024 holiday shopping season.

The final sales figures also exceeded the $23.8 billion online shoppers Adobe projected would spend prior to the start of the event, which ran July 8 to July 11.

Purchases financed using buy now, pay later loans accounted for $2 billion in spending, or 8.1% of transactions, up from a 7.4% share a year ago. Overall, BNPL spending by consumers increased 33.3% year-over-over year. Mobile shoppers accounted for 53.2% of sales, contributing $12.8 billion in online spend, nearly half the final sales tally.

Consumer demand, as opposed to consumer’s desire to make a purchase before prices rise, was the driver behind the record-setting sales. The Adobe Digital Price Index, which tracks online prices across 18 product categories, reveals that e-commerce prices have fallen for 34 months and were down 2.1% in June, compared to the same period a year ago. Adobe’s numbers are not adjusted for inflation, “but if online inflation were factored in, there would be even higher growth in topline consumer spend,” the company says.

Paid search was the leading driver of retail sales online, accounting for 28.5% of revenue, a 5.6% year-over-year increase. Affiliates and partners, which include social-media influencers, also played a significant role in driving Web-site traffic and sales, accounting for a 19.9% share of revenue, up from a 15% share a year ago. Social-media influencers also converted shoppers 10 times more often than social media overall, according to Adobe’s data.

Consumers also used Prime Day to get a head start on back-to-school shopping. School supplies, such as backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, calculators, and kids’ apparel, were up 175% from a year ago. Dorm essentials, such as microwaves, mini-fridges, bedroom linens, twin/full mattresses, laundry and cleaning products, and storage products increased 84% from a year ago. The potent back-to-school sales data shows that the Prime Day event has “been cemented as a back-to-school shopping moment,” Adobe says.