Three consumer signals from Amazon Prime Big Deal Days

The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days fall sales extravaganza has concluded, and the results contain some valuable consumer intelligence for retailers.

Initial analysis of the fourth annual Amazon Prime Big Deal Days digital commerce blockbuster suggests consumers are definitely willing to shop, but retailers need to pay attention to broader economic trends as well as purchase drivers and what may be in store for the all-important holiday season.

[READ MORE: Amazon kicking off holidays with October Prime sales event]

Let’s take a look at three signals about the state of the consumer sent by Prime Big Deal Days, starting with early holiday shopping patterns.

Holiday shopping has just begun

Amazon promotes Prime Big Deal Days as the kickoff to its holiday discount season, and many of its top competitors, including Walmart and Target, ran competing October sales events that were also positioned as a chance to get a jump on holiday shopping.

However, only 23% of 5,000 Prime Big Deal Days shoppers surveyed by Numerator reported purchasing gifts for the holidays. Of those customers who did make holiday purchases, only 33% said they completed more than half of their holiday gift shopping with their purchases. 

In good news for Amazon (and retail in general) 84% of surveyed Prime Big Deal Days shoppers say they will "definitely" or "probably" shop on Amazon again for holiday items and gifts in the next three months, meaning they will also most likely be shopping elsewhere.

This is borne out by more than half of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers saying they plan to shop on Black Friday (61%) and Cyber Monday (58%), while 21% plan to shop on Thanksgiving itself, and 33% plan to shop on the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Retailers have been starting holiday promotions extra early this year but need to plan for a shopping season that have sales volume spread out over a longer period of time and also make sure they are well-prepared for the Cyber Week peak demand period.

It’s the economy, stupid

Nearly half (48%) of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers surveyed by Numerator said tariffs had an impact on their Prime Big Deal Days purchase decisions, while 29% were more cautious about spending because of the current economic climate, and 28% limited spending because of inflation or cost-of-living concerns.

Almost six-in-10 (58%) Prime Big Deal Days shoppers said they were extremely or very satisfied with the deals offered during the event, and average Prime Big Deal Days 2025 spend per order was $45.42 and average household spend exceeded $104.

This suggests consumers are willing to spend, but they’re looking for deals. More than half (56%) of survey respondents said they compared Amazon’s prices or products with other retailers both online and in-store.

Retailers need to take wider economic uncertainty into account when setting prices. You may have to price at least some items at a suboptimal level in order to generate volume, which hopefully will make up the profit difference. In an era of rising wholesale prices and falling inventory levels, this is no easy feat, but consumers are even more price-conscious than usual right now, and retailers need to align themselves with that consciousness.

If you host it, they will come

Finally, the success of Prime Big Deal Days demonstrates that even as the calendar continues to fill up with more special sales events, consumers will respond to a major savings opportunity.

Surveyed Prime Big Deal Days customers also reported shopping other retailers’ competing fall sales events. More than one-in-three (36%) said they shopped Walmart Holiday Deals and 27% said they shopped Target Circle Week.

This reinforces the importance of keeping up with your competitors’ sales promotions. Customers already looking for a deal are willing to shop around, make sure you have something to offer them.