Online retail sales in the United States during Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event have surpassed record levels of e-commerce spending reached during Cyber Monday last year, according to a new report.
Total e-commerce sales on Monday and Tuesday surpassed $11 billion, representing 6.1% growth compared with last year’s October Prime Day event, according to an index tracked by Adobe Analytics, which looks at more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites and over 100 million items across 18 product categories.
Online retail sales amounted to $5.6 billion on Monday, the first day of Prime Day, and $5.4 billion on day two, Adobe said. That made Monday the biggest day for digital sales so far this year, and Tuesday the second-biggest day, Adobe added.
Last holiday shopping season, sales during Cyber Monday amounted to about $10.9 billion, marking the largest U.S. online shopping day on record.
“There’s a pent up demand for online shopping as consumers look forward to a return to normalcy,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital insights. “The halo effect of Prime Day also played a significant role, giving both large and small online retailers significant revenue lifts.”
Businesses including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s have been offering competing markdowns this week.
Adobe said that retailers that bring in more than $1 billion in revenue each year reported a 29% increase in e-commerce sales during Prime Day compared with an average June day, while smaller retailers doing less than $10 million in annual revenue saw a 21% lift.
Adobe also found that discount levels were fairly consistent on Monday and Tuesday, with toys marked down by 12%, on average, and appliances discounted by 5%. It still said the best deals are expected to come closer to the holiday shopping season.
