According to BourseWatch research, there is little interest in Amazon’s enormous Prime Day. Despite concerns about tariffs, BofA analysts think the extended event indicates Amazon has more capacity to give discounts.
Amazon.com Inc. has redesigned its Prime Day shopping events in recent years to appeal to more conservative shoppers and protect itself from fiercer competition from companies like Walmart Inc., Target Corp., and TikTok, who have responded by launching their own discount days.
Analysts claim that the massive event in 2025 is a reaction to concerns about tariffs, as the online retail behemoth gets ready for its longest Prime Day event to yet, which will take place from July 8 to July 11. However, as its big-box competitors face more direct tariff challenges, they also claim that Amazon (AMZN), which depends on its extensive delivery network, AI shopping assistants, and additional benefits like food and travel delivery, may raise the bar for everyone else.
Such elements will grow more crucial to sticking out during an event that has become into the summer counterpart of Black Friday, with more shops lining up and bargains becoming more common but less distinctive, according to Vivek Pandya, manager of Adobe Digital Insights.
“It becomes incumbent on the retailers to ensure they’re competing on experience, and making sure that their promotions are really competitive,” he stated.
Due to the additional discount days, analysts anticipate a spike in demand the following week. However, several MarketWatch surveys also indicated that consumers, who are still concerned about the economy and saving money, had little interest in Prime Day.
They also pointed out that this year’s Prime Day falls on July 9, the day that the Trump administration’s most severe tariffs on numerous other countries are scheduled to terminate. Customers will probably wish to stock up in advance.
Matt Pavich, senior director of strategy and innovation at Revionics, a company that gives retailers pricing data, stated that the impending tariffs make this summer more significant. “You want to get some of those sales earlier in your fiscal year.”
According to him, doing so might provide the business with some leeway in case the second half of the year turns out to be more difficult. He claimed that by providing more offer days, folks who might otherwise forget if it were just one day long might be drawn in. Additionally, he stated that even if a reduction is short-lived, a longer length of time will probably lead customers to associate Amazon with lower costs.
“As you are about to raise prices due to tariffs, it helps your price perception by having some really good offers in the market,” he stated.
The Prime Day event could generate $21.4 billion in gross merchandise value, which is a measure of the entire worth of the things sold, according to BofA analysts. That would represent an annual gain of over 60%. According to them, the four-day Prime Day period this year may contribute about 10% of Amazon’s third-quarter gross merchandise value, which is slightly more than the 7% from the previous year.
“While competition from other retailers like Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Best Buy has increased during Prime Day(s), we believe that the event will remain a positive driver for Amazon branding and Prime sign-up/retention,” Justin Post, an analyst at BofA, said in a on Tuesday.
“Extending the savings window suggests that Amazon has greater retail logistics capacity to offer promotions, and that inventory availability is not a constraint, despite tariff concerns,” he said. “Notable enablers include Amazon’s improved inbound network, optimized inventory placement, and recent robotics implementation.”
During the May first-quarter results call, Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, stated that the company has been attempting to stock products nearer to customers’ addresses. He claimed that the corporation had set new delivery-speed records during that quarter.
According to Amazon, its Prime members will be able to take advantage of “millions” of discounts on items including food, home goods, and school supplies this year. Younger consumers (18–24 years old) will also benefit from discounts on Prime Video, travel, gas, and some Grubhub deliveries. Twenty-six countries will host Prime Day this year.
Some employees have voiced worries about the working and safety conditions as Amazon attempts to grow and expand. Additionally, worries regarding AI’s accuracy in communicating information continue to exist as the business and other Big Tech companies push forward with stratospheric spending on the technology.
However, the online retailer also highlights methods to utilize AI to buy in its press release introducing this year’s Prime Day, including its assistant Rufus, AI-powered shopping tips, and personalized prompts based on interests. Amazon is demanding a sign-in to utilize certain AI capabilities, according to Post at BofA, “helping set up the company for a broader retail agentic AI rollout.”
This week, emarketer pointed out that in an attempt to divert sales, companies like Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY), REI, Kohl’s Cos. (KSS), and Dollar General Corp. (DG) heavily boosted their deals prior to Prime Day.
Since consumers, especially those with lower incomes, continue to be frugal with their buying, such chains lack Amazon’s reach as well as its technological and media tools to help alleviate the retail industry’s current problems. However, Post warned that Amazon’s stock might be at risk from the rivalry.
“We maintain our Buy rating on Amazon,” they stated. “The risk is that added Prime Day promotions could impact 3Q margins.”
