Back-to-school season is getting harder for retailers. Many parents plan to increase their budget from last year, but they’re taking longer to make decisions. That forces retailers to adapt to a longer, more complicated buying journey. “Parents are already building their back-to-school shopping lists, and most of them aren't moving in a straight line from seeing an ad to buying something,” said Rod Paolucci, global head of marketing at Channel Factory.

High-income shoppers buy private label groceries while booking luxury vacations without hesitation. It looks like a contradiction, but the same psychological decision-making drives both choices, and retailers need to understand it to succeed.

Strong discretionary spending contrasts with weaker grocery demand and high fuel bills.

Amazon Prime Day 2026 set record sales, but the headline number hides a value shift: shoppers spent less per household, leaned into everyday essentials, and grew harder to satisfy. Amazon's first members-only same-day grocery Prime Day, and its widening membership lead, reshaped the event. Analysts read the results as a bellwether for the holiday season. This FAQ covers what Prime Day is, how the 2026 event actually performed, what shoppers bought, and how brands and rival retailers should respond.

On today’s podcast, we discuss what surprised us most about this year’s Prime Day, how shoppers are approaching the mega-event differently, how Amazon is using technology to make shopping easier—or more complicated—and the biggest lesson for its competitors. Tune in to hear a discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian and Principal Analysts Sky Canaves and Zak Stambor.

Last week, Ace Hardware held its annual Ace Rewards Day sales event, designed to capture the surge in shopping activity that Amazon's Prime Day helps create each summer. The preparation behind the event offers a playbook retail media leaders can apply to major retail moments throughout the rest of the year, including the holiday season.

More pricing clarity and eager shoppers could set the stage for strong spending.

Amazon will dominate, but rivals are poised to draw deal-driven shoppers.

The earlier sales time frame could attract price-sensitive shoppers seeking summer and seasonal items.

A rumored late June date would heighten pressure on sellers and competitors while easing Amazon’s YoY comparisons.

Holiday shoppers in Asia-Pacific are decisively digital-first, with online intent outpacing in-store browsing throughout the region. However, there are notable variations in consumer behaviors across markets.

US retail sales advanced in July as consumers took advantage of major sales events. However, signs are emerging that consumers are becoming more pessimistic as inflation expectations rise. With pressure from rising food prices, higher housing costs, and uncertainty about higher tariffs, consumers remain cost-conscious—and are wary about what’s ahead. Still, it’s clear that they’re willing to spend when they see clear value, providing a roadmap for retailers to capture sales.

This year, Amazon extended its July Prime Day event from two to four days, giving consumers more time to shop, brands more opportunities to advertise, and Amazon more time to generate sales.

Though TikTok Shop faces the dual challenges of economic instability and a tenuous presence on US app stores, marketers are still taking advantage of its positioning as both a social platform and ecommerce engine.

The insight: Prime Day got off to a strong start, according to Adobe data, despite alternative reports of a dip in spending. Our take: The early Prime Day enthusiasm is an encouraging sign for Amazon, which is counting on the event to not only boost sales but also unlock additional ad revenues. It could also be a good sign for retailers running competing sales. While we ultimately expect the longer sales period to benefit the ecommerce giant, shoppers’ growing awareness of other events—and propensity to comparison-shop—could help retailers like Walmart and Target grow their share of an increasingly lucrative shopping period.

The news: Generative AI (genAI) is expected to play a bigger role than ever in ecommerce during Amazon’s Prime Day event this week. Adobe predicts that genAI-driven traffic will surge 3,200% YoY as more consumers use AI for searching for products, price matching, and purchasing decisions. Our take: While still trailing traditional channels like paid search and email, AI is winning consumer trust and influencing higher-consideration purchases​​. Marketers that can tailor shopping content around AI search could help their clients gain visibility. Structure product data, promotions, and sales content for AI interfaces like chatbots, shopping agents, and search for more conversational browsing with a higher conversion rate.

The trend: A growing parade of retailers are front-loading July promotions to capture sales before the start of Amazon’s Prime Day event, which will run from July 8 at 12:01am PDT through July 11. Our take: There's a good reason that more retailers are joining Walmart and Target in attempting to get a head start on Prime Day. Amazon typically garners an outsized share of sales during its marquee event; we expect Amazon will account for 75% of US ecommerce sales during Prime Day this year.

The trend: Summer retail sales are starting earlier and stretching longer than ever. Our take: Retailers aren’t just chasing summer sales—they’re building revenue engines that integrate ecommerce, loyalty programs, and retail media into a more durable flywheel. By making sales events exclusive to members or offering perks like early access to deals, they’re encouraging sign-ups, deepening engagement, and boosting long-term customer value. The longer promotional windows give retailers more time to drive discretionary spending, alleviate fulfillment bottlenecks, and monetize digital traffic through advertising. That’s especially critical this year, as economic uncertainty prompts more consumers to pull back on nonessential purchases.

A new four-day format for Amazon’s tentpole event will shake up the playing field.

The news: Amazon announced its Prime Day event will run from July 8 at 12:01 a.m. PDT through July 11, starting eight days earlier than last year and lasting twice as long as previous events. Our take: Amazon recognizes that while consumers have grown more selective about when and where they spend, many will still jump at the chance to save if they find compelling offers. By extending Prime Day’s duration, adding tech-driven shopping tools, and broadening its footprint across countries and third-party sites, Amazon is turning the event into an inescapable, large-scale retail moment. Even in a margin-squeezed environment, the visibility and sales potential of Prime Day may be too significant for sellers to pass up.