Amazon Prime Day household spending down 16%, survey says

More than seven in 10 shoppers said products would have to be discounted by at least 30 per cent for them to consider it a good deal. Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Bloomberg

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Amazon.com Inc.’s annual Prime Day sale is off to a slow start, according to a survey conducted by market research firm Numerator.

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The average household surveyed had spent about US$89 as of 4 p.m. New York time, Numerator said on Tuesday, down about 16 per cent from the same time during last year’s event, which began in July.

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Shoppers stocked up on things like trash bags, cat treats and makeup remover, according to the survey, which is based on more than 6,700 Prime Day orders from more than 3,600 households.

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Amazon’s marquee promotion — now in its 12th year — faces a squeeze. Shoppers have high expectations for steep discounts because higher gas prices have crimped their budgets. But brands and merchants are struggling to meet those expectations owing to their own rising costs and continued uncertainty regarding tariffs.

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Global marketing firm PMG estimated Prime Day discounts would be shallower this year, continuing a multiyear trend. The firm analyzed discount data on tens of millions of products over the past two years.

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“Third-party data on deal selection and purchasing trends are often inaccurate, as is the case with these reports.,” Amazon spokesperson Maxine Tagay said in an email, adding that the company was “pleased with the early customer response.” She said more than one million items are being offered at their lowest price so far this year and touted more than 100,000 deals discounted by at least 40 per cent.

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Almost 90 per cent of Amazon Prime subscribers plan to shop the sale, according to an April survey conducted by the marketing agency Tinuiti Inc. But they’ll also surf the web and use artificial intelligence tools to find the best deals. More than seven in 10 shoppers said products would have to be discounted by at least 30 per cent for them to consider it a good deal, with one in five deeming at least half off a good discount, according to Tinuiti’s survey.

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United States consumers will spend US$26.3 billion online with Amazon and other retailers during the event, up nine per cent from last year’s four-day sale in July, according to Adobe Inc., which tracks visits to retail websites. Discounts are expected to be in line with last year, when apparel and electronics sellers offered about 23 per cent off. Adobe expects back-to-school apparel to be a leading category.

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Lofty oil prices and continued tariff uncertainty made offering steep discounts difficult this year, said Josh Ketter, proprietor of Lincoln, Nebraska-based Spreetail, which sells swimming pools, trampolines, patio furniture and thousands of other products on marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop. Many of his products are made with petroleum-based plastics, so the Iran war drove up his expenses.

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Amazon packages on a Prime delivery van in New York. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

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“Last year we still had some inventory that came in before the tariffs, so we were in a better position,” said Ketter, who said his average Prime Day discount this year is in the 15 per cent to 20 per cent range. Shoppers are trading down to lower-cost versions of products, for instance picking the US$500 swimming pool over a US$1,000 one, he said.