Amazon Prime Day 2025 sales drop 41% on day 1 despite 4-day event – shoppers wait for better deals

Amazon made Prime Day 2025 four days long instead of two. They hoped shoppers would have more time to browse and buy. Momentum Commerce said sales on the first day were down 41% compared to the first day of Prime Day last year. This company handles sales for 50 brands like Crocs and Beats, as per the reports.

People are browsing but not buying right away. CEO John Shea said shoppers are waiting to see if better deals show up later. Shorter Prime Days made people buy fast. With four days, there's less fear of missing out, so shoppers are chill.

Sales might still go up

Momentum thinks sales could still go up 9.1% overall. That is if more people buy stuff in the last two days. Momentum handles around $7 billion in yearly Amazon sales. So they have a pretty solid look at how things are going, according to the report by Bloomberg.


John Shea said Amazon took a big risk. Extending the sale might pay off or totally flop Despite low sales on Day 1, Amazon stock went up 1.5%. Wall Street is still hopeful it’ll pick up later. Gil Luria from D.A. Davidson said it's too early to judge, as per the reports.

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Amazon and experts don’t agree

Amazon didn’t comment at first, but later said Momentum’s numbers are wrong. They didn’t explain how the numbers were wrong though. Prime Day is important for checking consumer moods. Since Trump’s trade war, it has become a way to see how confident people feel about spending, as mentioned in the report by Bloomberg.

Some sellers gave fewer discounts this year. They were unsure about pricing because of past import taxes and delays. Amazon says they made it four days because customers wanted more time. Prime VP Jamil Ghani said this in a Bloomberg interview.

People bought small, everyday stuff

Most shoppers bought cheap daily items on Day 1. Stuff like dish soap, protein shakes, and cleaning products were hot buys. Almost 2/3 of the items were under $20. Only 3% of products sold were over $100, as per the reports.

Top-selling products: Dawn dish soap, Premier protein shakes, Finish rinse aid. These were the top sellers so far. Average spending per household was $106. That’s a bit lower than last year’s $110 on Day 1. Average price per item was $25.46, Down from $28 last year, showing people went for cheaper stuff, as stated in the report by Bloomberg

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Other stores also got more sales

Numerator says shoppers are buying more things, but spending less per item. Analyst Amanda Schoenbauer said this trend might still break records if people keep buying. U.S. shoppers spent $7.9 billion online across all stores on Tuesday. That’s up 9.9% from Prime Day 2024’s first day, as per the reports.

Total online sales during the four-day event might hit $23.8 billion. This includes other stores like Walmart and Target who also had sales. Other stores are getting a Prime Day boost too. Momentum’s Shea said the event has a “halo effect” on non-Amazon retailers this year, as mentioned in the report by Bloomberg.

FAQs

Q1. Why did Amazon Prime Day 2025 sales drop by 41% on Day 1?
Sales dropped because shoppers are waiting longer to buy, hoping for better deals later in the 4-day sale.

Q2. What are people buying the most on Prime Day 2025?
Shoppers are mostly buying low-cost daily items like dish soap, protein shakes, and cleaning products.