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What Online Retailers Can Learn
July 13, 2026
Amazon’s Prime Day 2026 sale gives us a clear look at how online shoppers respond when urgency, discounts, and heavy promotion collide.
A new Bizrate Insights survey of more than 1,000 online shoppers found that shopper behavior was far more mixed than the retail hype might suggest. Some consumers bought. Others browsed without purchasing. Many missed the event entirely. And a sizable group said they were likely to shop Prime Day again in the future.
Large retail events shape customer expectations across ecommerce, even for brands and merchants outside the marketplace hosting the sale. Shoppers are learning to compare deals, wait for stronger value, and move quickly when an offer feels relevant.
Previous Bizrate Insights Prime Day research has shown that the event influences how shoppers think about deals, spending, and competing promotions across the broader retail landscape.
Prime Day trains shoppers to compare deals, wait for value, and move quickly when an offer feels relevant. Broader market data reinforces that point.
According to Adobe data reported by Retail Dive, U.S. online retail spend during the Prime Day 2026 window reached about $26.4 billion, up 9.3% year over year. But the data also shows that attention is not guaranteed.
Our survey found that 40% of respondents purchased one or more items during Prime Day 2026. That confirms the event still drives meaningful buying activity.
But the rest of the data is just as important. Nearly one-quarter of respondents, 23%, said they were not even aware of the event. Another 15% looked at deals, but did not buy anything, while 22% knew about the event but did not look at deals.
There’s a clear split in purchasing behavior by gender and income. Women were significantly more likely to buy than men, with 45% of women making a purchase compared with 34% of men.
Household income also played a role. Purchase rates were lowest among those earning under $50K, at 32%, and highest among households earning $200K or more, at 51%.
Most Prime Day shoppers did not spend at the highest levels. Overall, only 8% spent $500 or more. However, among households earning $200K or more, 23% spent at least $500.
This suggests that higher-income shoppers may use major sale events to time larger purchases such as appliances or furniture.They are not only buying small impulse items. They may be waiting for the right moment to purchase pricey household goods, electronics, or premium products.
One of the most surprising findings was the awareness gap for younger shoppers. Among adults ages 18 to 34, 31% said they were not aware of Prime Day. That was higher than both 35 to 49 and 50 to 64 age groups.
This challenges a common ecommerce assumption. Younger shoppers may spend more time online, but that does not mean they notice every retail event.
The spending data supports this. Among 18 to 34-year-olds, 47% spent less than $50. That suggests younger shoppers treated Prime Day as a low-stakes, impulse-driven event rather than a planned shopping moment.
Online retailers trying to reach younger shoppers should keep offers simple, mobile-friendly, and easy to understand. Trust signals also matter. Bizrate Insights’ research on consumer trust in online shopping shows how shoppers evaluate authenticity, reviews, and AI-driven shopping experiences when deciding what to trust.
Not every non-buyer should be treated as a lost customer. Among those who did not purchase, 30% said they were just browsing. Another 16% said they did not find what they were looking for, and 15% said the deals were not good enough.
These responses provide a useful roadmap. Shoppers who felt the deals were weak may need stronger value messaging, not just a lower price.
Despite awareness gaps and heavy browsing, more than 60% of respondents said they were likely or very likely to shop the event again next year.
That matters for all retailers. Major shopping events impact how customers think about promotions, even when they shop elsewhere. Consumers now expect stronger offers during key shopping events.
Numerator’s Prime Day 2026 tracker also found that many Prime Day shoppers compared prices across retailers and engaged with competing sales events, including Walmart Deals and Target Circle Deal Days.
Among Amazon Prime Day shoppers, Clothing & Accessories was the top purchase category at 31%, followed by Home & Kitchen at 28%, with Beauty & Personal Care and Electronics tied at 21%.
Women were more likely than men to buy clothing, home items, and beauty products, while men over-indexed on electronics, sports/outdoors, and automotive purchases.
Higher-income shoppers, especially those earning $200K+, were significantly more likely to buy across several categories, including clothing, beauty, automotive, and office supplies.
Age differences also stood out: younger shoppers were more likely to buy toys and games, while shoppers ages 50 to 64 were stronger in electronics, automotive, and pet supplies.
Overall, Prime Day purchasing was driven by a mix of personal, household, and practical needs, with clear category preferences by gender, age, income, and marital status.
Prime Day 2026 shows that big retail moments create opportunities beyond just Amazon. Online merchants can use these insights to improve their own promotional strategy.
Here are the key takeaways:
Bizrate Insights surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,012 online shoppers aged 18+ from June 29 to July 3, 2026, following Amazon Prime Day 2026. Respondents were asked about their awareness of the event, whether they browsed or purchased, reasons for not buying, spending behavior, and likelihood to shop Prime Day again next year.
Results are shown as percentages of the applicable respondent base. The approximate margin of sampling error for the total sample is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Future shopping intent is based on Prime Day-aware respondents, N=756, with an approximate margin of sampling error of ±3.6 percentage points. Reasons for not purchasing are based on non-buyers, N=147, with an approximate margin of sampling error of ±8.1 percentage points.
Demographic subgroup sample sizes may not add up to the total because these questions were optional. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
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