Retail

Total e-commerce sales during Amazon Prime Day surpass $11 billion, Adobe says

Key Points
  • Total online retail sales in the United States during Prime Day were 6.1% higher than transactions generated by the 2020 event, according to Adobe Analytics.
  • Online retail sales amounted to $5.6 billion on Monday and $5.4 billion on day two, Adobe said.
  • That made Monday the biggest day for digital sales this year and Tuesday the second-busiest, according to Adobe.

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Total online retail sales in the United States during Amazon's 48-hour Prime Day surpassed $11 billion — 6.1% higher than overall e-commerce transactions generated by the 2020 event, according to Adobe Analytics data.

The total was slightly more than last year's Cyber Monday, which was the busiest digital sales day on record, Adobe said. However, the Prime Day event was for 48 hours rather than the 24-hour Cyber Monday splurge after Thanksgiving.

The index Adobe Analytics tracked looks at more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites and over 100 million items across 18 product categories.

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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 this year and Tuesday the second-busiest, according to Adobe. By comparison, the 48-hour Prime Day 2020 generated $10.4 billion in overall U.S. digital revenue, according to Adobe.

Sales during Cyber Monday 2020 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."

The total sales during Prime Day includes results from WalmartTargetBest Buy and Kohl's, which have also 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.

Correction: Headlines in this version clarify that Adobe's tally tracked overall U.S. online sales during Amazon's Prime Day event.