CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday raved about Amazon 's ability to keep prices incredibly low as its Prime Day kicked off. Amazon is the "most inflation-fighting company on Earth," Cramer said on " Squawk on the Street ," adding that prices consumers will see this week harken back to the pre-Covid levels in 2018, a reference point before post-pandemic inflation ran rampant. "Those who complain about inflation they should look at what they bought and what they'd be paying now," without the Prime Day deals, he added. The e-commerce giant's annual shopping event, which offers exclusive deals to Prime members across various categories — including electronics, apparel, and everyday items — began Tuesday and will run through Friday. That's an additional two days this year versus the typical 48-hour window. It tends to be a huge tailwind for Amazon, given that the significant discounts spur a lot of buying activity. The event is expected to bring in a record $12.9 billion in the U.S., up 53% from last year, according to research firm eMarketer. Despite the usual consumer enthusiasm, Wall Street appears to be lukewarm Tuesday, sending Amazon down nearly 1.5%. Cramer said, "I know the stock hasn't done that much," with shares up less than 1% year to date. Still, he added, "You don't want to leave this stock." That's because Amazon's prices "really are incredible," Cramer noted, equating them to the cost-saving deals at membership-only retailer Costco , which is also a stock in the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Costco is known for keeping its prices low because it buys in bulk, allowing it to negotiate lower prices with its suppliers and pass those savings on to members. Amazon and Costco are the "keeper of prices" and the fighters of inflation, along with Walmart . Amazon has been actively working to keep prices low by consolidating its fulfillment network to get deliveries out to customers faster, and by integrating artificial intelligence across its logistics network for demand forecasting. This year's longer Prime Day event suggests Amazon is ready to deal with the higher volume of orders. Last week on "Mad Money," Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company's ability to offer "very significant discounts" comes from its "retail team working closely with our third-party selling partners because we know people are very sensitive about price right nowm, but we also want to make sure we gave them great deals on items they actually care about." The Prime Day event comes at a time when U.S. consumers are not feeling very optimistic about the economy as negotiations between the U.S. and its global trading partners continue to be volatile. President Donald Trump 's so-called Liberation Day tariffs are a primary factor shaping consumers' views about the economy, according to the University of Michigan , which distributes a monthly survey on consumer sentiment. Still, many "consumers feel there is some breathing room," said Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers. That's because "the worst-case scenario for the economy hasn't come to fruition," she added. In the June survey, the consumer sentiment index did rise month over month to 60.7. But, it's worth noting that the 52.2 level in May was unchanged from April's lowest level on record. Last June, the consumer sentiment index was 68.2. The reality is, however, that Americans continue to spend even though they're concerned about the economic backdrop. According to a forecast by Adobe Analytics, online spending is expected to increase 28.4% year-over-year to $23.8 billion across all U.S. retailers during Amazon's Prime Day period, suggesting a halo effect for the industry and another robust event for Amazon. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AMZN, COST. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
31 minutes ago