Amazon.com's Prime Day sales event may feel like a distant memory (unless that credit card bill has yet to arrive), but new research shows that consumers are adjusting their spending habits in measurable ways around what has been dubbed "Black Friday in July." And Amazon remains the clear winner.
Prime Day is aimed at Amazon Prime members, who pay an annual subscription fee of $119, but Target, Best Buy and many other retailers now offer their own deals to run concurrently.
During this year's two-day event July 15 and 16, online shoppers spent more than 10 times as much money on Amazon as they did on Walmart and eBay combined, according to Edison Trends.
The market research firm 1010data found that Amazon took significant online market share from both Walmart and Minneapolis-based Target Corp. at the start of the 48-hour day sales event and held it for the day after.
The firm analyzed U.S. credit and debit card spending for the three retailers in the days leading up to the two-day promotional event, during it and immediately afterward.
1010data found that market share for both Target and Walmart peaked on the Saturday before Monday's Prime Day sales kickoff compared to Amazon and slid measurably once the event began.
But because the time horizon extended only to July 17, the day after the Prime Day sales event concluded, it's not known whether there was a lasting impact on consumer behavior.
Matt Napoli, an equity insights analyst with 1010data, said the data confirms consumers' growing preference for online shopping.
"There are no real surprises in the online market share between Target, Walmart and Amazon for July 15, 16," Napoli said. "You expect Amazon to account for the lion's share on those days. But when we step back and look at the broader picture of annual growth rates, we see Walmart and Target significantly growing their presence and increasing their share of online sales."
Amazon hasn't released sales results, but Coresight Research estimates the company could earn around $5.8 billion in global sales. The retail giant has said it sold 175,000 items — more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
"Similar to last year, Amazon used the event to bolster sales for its own devices," Jacquelyn Cooley, another market analyst at 1010data, wrote in a research report.
More than half of the top selling items were Amazon or Amazon-owned tech devices compatible with the Alexa ecosystem, Cooley wrote, with the Fire TV stick and Alexa Voice Remote topping the list of biggest sellers.
In a bit of curious insight into consumer behavior, 1010data found that a heavily discounted line of Crest teeth whitening strips was the 14th most popular product sold on Amazon.com (outranking a Ring video doorbell and Toshiba 32-inch smart TV). The price on the Crest whiteners was slashed 60%, far outselling another Crest whitener offered at a 36 % discount, according to Cooley.
Retailers have long held back-to-school promotions. But the Prime Day phenomenon, now in its fifth year, has forced the entire industry into a more concentrated sales effort, and consumers are opening their wallets.
The nation's biggest players, with annual sales higher than $1 billion, saw a combined 68 % average increase in online sales during the 48-hour sale, according to Adobe Analytics. Smaller niche retailers, with sales of less than $5 million a year, saw a 28% boost, according to Adobe.
A survey from Bazaarvoice ahead of this year's Prime Day promotion found that many shoppers scouted other retailers' deals. Top choices were Walmart (44%), Target (40%), Best Buy (24%) and Macy's (18%).
