Amazon’s Prime Day Drove $7.2 Billion in Online Sales to U.S. Retailers in First Day, Adobe Says

Online spending at U.S. retailers hit $7.2 billion as Amazon’s (AMZN) Prime Day kicked off Tuesday, according to an analysis by Adobe Analytics.

That made it the largest e-commerce day of 2024, marking a nearly 12% jump from last year’s first day, Adobe Analytics said in a statement.

Prime Day drove $12.7 billion in online shopping across the two-day event last year, Adobe projected earlier this week that the 2024 event would break last year’s record by generating an estimated $14 billion in sales.

Spending Lifted by Discounts, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’

“Steep discounting has been the story of e-commerce so far this year, as consumers look to get the most value out of their dollar,” Adobe Digital Insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya said. “It is driving up demand for major categories like electronics and apparel, which have seen more modest growth in recent months, while also capturing back-to-school shoppers at just the right moment.”

The analysis also found that “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) programs are growing in popularity, as purchases made Tuesday using a BNPL option made up $540 million in sales, 17% higher than the same time last year. Adobe expects total BNPL purchases to be about $1.1 billion of the projected $14 billion in sales over the two-day period.

Amazon shares finished Wednesday down 2.6% as a broader sell-off affected a number of tech-related stocks.