• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 6 hours ago

Brands studying their Amazon Prime Day metrics may be surprised at a couple of general industry statistics.

Clicks rose 9% YoY during the four-day event, according to a benchmark report from Impact.com.  

But it’s not all good news: Transactions fell by 25%, while conversion rates declined by 31% and consumer spending was down 45% during the period.  

The broader pattern shows that consumers are now taking nearly two additional days to research before buying -- 11 days versus 9.37 last year. 

And the biggest sales day wasn’t even during Prime Day: Sales peaked nearly two weeks before that compared with last year, when they hit their highest point on Prime Day 3. This means email marketers must drive sales earlier than they did.  

“This data shows consumers are being more intentional about their purchases,” says Cristy Garcia, chief marketing officer of Impact.com. “The brands that win are the ones who meet them where they're actually making decisions — not just during the sale, but in the research phase.” 

That means “extending campaigns beyond the four-day event window and building stronger relationships with the publishers, review sites, and creators whose recommendations show up in AI answer engines,” Garcia adds. “It's a more partnership-driven approach, and that's where the real influence happens." 

It also means that email teams must start earlier — much earlier — while focusing on repeat customers.

Total Prime Day sales hit a record $26.4 billion — a 9.3% increase YoY, according to Adobe Analytics.

But Amazon’s halo effect changed, based on Impact.com’s analysis of 1,364 North American retail and shopping brands. “Consumer spending tracked through partner and affiliate channels—on brands’ own sites, not Amazon’s — dropped 45% YoY during the same four days,” the study notes. 

“Prime Day 2026’s halo effect didn’t disappear,” the study notes. “Instead, it stretched across the full month leading up to and including the event, diluting the four event days.”

In another finding, the study reports that loyalty and rewards partners saw a 13% decline in conversions — a modest dip compared to those of Network partners (60%) and Media Arbitrage partners (55%). 

Average order value fell by 27%, from $221 to $160. This was driven “mostly by smaller baskets (items per basket down 22) rather than lower-value items (item value down just 6%).”