Dive Brief:
- During Amazon’s Prime Day dates — June 23 through June 26 — online U.S. retail spend grew about 9.3% year over year to $26.4 billion, according to data from Adobe shared with Retail Dive on Saturday.
- Discounts across online retail in the region were mostly on par with deals in 2025, with electronics discounts peaking at 24% off the listed price versus 23% off last year. Apparel discounts remained the same at 24% off, appliances stayed 16% off and toys discounts rose slightly from 19% to 20% off.
- Buy now, pay later orders jumped 9.5% compared to last year, accounting for 6.6% of online orders or $2.1 billion during the period.
Dive Insight:
Online spend surrounding Amazon's Prime Day sales event is inching closer to Black Friday levels.
In comparison to the $26.4 billion in online spend during this recent Prime Day, consumers spent about $32.45 billion across Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year, per Adobe.
This year’s spend during the Prime Day sales event was slightly higher than Adobe’s projection of $26.3 billion in U.S. e-commerce sales.
E-commerce giant Amazon moved up its Prime Day sales event to June this year, compared to its July dates in 2025. Several other retailers — such as Walmart and Target — followed suit with their own competing events.
Online sales from June 23 through June 26 were driven by electronics, appliances, tools and home improvement, as well as home and garden merchandise.
Consumers used the sales period to buy more expensive products. Adobe’s data found the share of the most expensive products grew 19% compared to average levels year to date. The share of the most expensive goods in electronics jumped by 51%, and shoppers were trading up in categories such as toys, appliances and furniture.
Promotional levels across 68 retailers and brands showed that about 40% were more promotional surrounding the event than in July of last year, according to Telsey Advisory Group’s research team.
“Amazon Prime Day 2026 shifted two weeks earlier into 2Q26 from 3Q25, and it blended with multiple retail promotions around Memorial Day, FIFA World Cup, Father’s Day, and Independence Day (America 250)—helping create a midyear spike in consumer spending,” Telsey Advisory Group analysts said in an emailed note Friday. “Amazon should continue to gain market share by leveraging its sticky Prime member base, small business relationships, and technological edge.”
