Amazon dethroned by bitter rival in deals war as Prime Day is a bust
Once the biggest online shopping bonanza of the year, Prime Day's dominance is faltering.
Both retail giants launched their summer sales on July 8 — Amazon for four days and Walmart for almost a week.
That meant this year's Prime Day was double the length it had been since 2018. When the event began in 2015, it lasted just one day.
Amazon bosses hoped the extra time would boost spending, but it instead encouraged shoppers to compare deals — and many opted for Walmart.
Walmart outperformed Amazon across several key metrics.
Spending on Walmart.com soared 24 percent compared to 2024, Bloomberg data shows — six times faster than Prime Day's year‑over‑year growth.
Web traffic told a similar story, with Walmart surging 14 percent while Amazon stayed flat, according to Similarweb.
'Shoppers are more willing to do the work and navigate across multiple websites,' Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research told Bloomberg.
'We saw people spending a lot more time browsing and comparing prices.'
A spokesperson for Amazon said the data did not reflect the 'highly positive customer response to this year's Prime Day,' arguing that the event still saw meaningful growth.
Amazon remains the undisputed king of ecommerce, capturing around 40 cents of every dollar spent online, according to Emarketer.
However, Walmart — the US's largest private employer — is ploughing investment into its online units.
The Arkansas-based retailer has pumped resources into improving delivery speeds and has built up its online inventory to more than 500 million items.
As a result, Walmart's online sales are climbing 20 percent a year, adding intense pressure on Amazon.
The event was such a success that its competitors began to follow suit with their own summer deals.
Now retail traffic after the July 4 public holiday has started to outdo the traditional Black Friday sales period in November.
Walmart launched its Walmart + subscription in 2020, offering unlimited free deliveries for $98 per year.
The membership also offers deals on gas and free grocery deliveries over $35.
Amazon's own Prime subscription is expected to soon rise by $20 to $159 a year, experts have warned.
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