According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. online spending on Amazon.com (AMZN.US) surged 11% year-over-year during the retailer’s 48-hour “Prime Day” event, reaching $14.2 billion, above expectations and a record.
Adobe said the strong performance was driven mainly by back-to-school shopping and “significant product refresh cycle,” with consumers buying new Apple laptops, TVs and Beats audio in large numbers. This was different from last year, when inflation caused consumers to buy mostly staples such as food and office supplies during the discount event.
The company forecast U.S. consumers would spend $14 billion online during the two-day event. Adobe tracked not only on Amazon but also at major U.S. retailers. Amazon’s Prime Day event took place Tuesday and Wednesday, and has become a major source of revenue for other retailers, who typically run competitive sales during the event.
Amazon said its Prime Day revenue also set a “record,” though it didn’t disclose the total sales. The company said its Rufus shopping assistant helped “millions” of shoppers browse the site. Rufus uses generative artificial intelligence to recommend products and provide order updates, and Amazon opened it to all U.S. users last week, after testing it with a portion of shoppers.
Numerator, which tracks more than 35,500 households, found that shoppers spent an average of $57.97 per order this year, up from $54.05 last year. Shoppers snapped up Amazon’s Fire TV stick, Premier protein shakes and Liquid IV hydration drinks, while home goods and essentials and clothing and footwear were also popular categories.
Numerator analyst Amanda Schoenbauer said: “Shoppers are buying fewer big-ticket items than in the past, and they are making fewer purchases per participant, which indicates that consumers are being more rational and are focused on saving rather than spending.”
The Amazon stock price fell with the broader market Thursday, closing down 2.22% at $183.75.