Prime Day 2026: A few honest observations

Prime Day came and went a little differently this year. Now that it’s over, we thought it was worth sitting down and talking through what we saw.

Not the polished, after-the-fact version, but what stood out while we were inside the accounts, watching things happen in real time.

Prime Day moved earlier and lasted longer

Prime Day has usually landed in July, but this year it moved forward to June and ran across four days instead of the usual shorter window.

If you’re the kind of brand that plans promotional calendars months in advance, that is the sort of shift that can throw things off. It is worth keeping in mind for next year, rather than assuming the date will remain consistent.

Most of the activity still happened early

Even with the event running for four days, most of the accounts we manage saw the bulk of their spike during the first two.

After that, things settled. Amazon gave everyone a longer runway, but buying behaviour did not necessarily stretch to fill it.

That is useful to know when deciding how to pace budget and bidding across an event like this. Front-loading may matter more than the calendar suggests.

New promotional formats produced mixed results

We also saw a bit of experimentation this year. A few accounts that had never run deals before decided to test the waters, trying things such as buy-one-get-one offers or product bundles for the first time.

Not all of it worked. Some of these newer formats did not move the needle compared with more straightforward discounts.

That does not mean brands should avoid trying new things during Prime Day. But it is a reminder that a major trading event may not be the best moment to test something unproven and hope for the best. The risk of it falling flat is real, and results need to be benchmarked carefully before relying on the same approach again.

Performance varied significantly by market

The response was not evenly distributed across territories. The US and UK saw the clearest uplift, while other markets were quieter, partly because coverage and account maturity are not yet the same everywhere.

A strategy that works in one marketplace does not automatically translate to another. That is not new advice, but Prime Day tends to make the differences much more visible.

Better monitoring meant less manual checking

One shift we are genuinely proud of has nothing to do with the deals themselves.

In previous years, checking whether deals were actually live, who held the Buy Box and whether everything was working properly took a lot of manual time. That is no longer the case for us.

We have built this monitoring into an automated system that identifies issues and alerts the team. It has freed up a meaningful amount of time that used to be spent checking the basics.

That means more of our attention during the event can go towards making decisions and responding to performance.

Every Prime Day deal needs a clear purpose

Prime Day does not require every product to be discounted, but the products you choose to support need a clear role.

For some brands, that might mean clearing stock. For others, it could be generating visibility for a launch, attracting new customers or gaining momentum in a competitive category.

Deals and increased advertising will inevitably put pressure on short-term margin. That is not necessarily a reason to hold back. The more important question is whether that investment is helping the brand achieve something beyond the four days themselves.

The right approach depends on the product

There is some nuance by category.

Everyday, lower-consideration products, the things people buy without thinking too hard, do not always benefit much from being discounted during Prime Day. They may perform well simply because of the additional organic traffic surrounding the event.

Higher-priced, more considered purchases are less consistent. Some sell regardless of whether they are on deal. Others only begin to move when there is a visible discount attached, no matter how well known the brand is.

There is also an interesting psychological pattern around more expensive items. People who feel they have saved money elsewhere in their basket sometimes appear more willing to spend on something expensive, discounted or not. It is almost as if they have earned the splurge.

The broader lesson: restraint matters

None of these observations is groundbreaking on its own. Taken together, though, they point to something brands can underestimate:

Prime Day rewards restraint and judgment more than it rewards simply showing up with a discount.

Knowing which products are genuinely worth putting forward, how heavily to discount them and where to concentrate budget matters more than blanket participation.

Having the operational side sorted is equally important. If the team is not buried in manual checks, it has more time to respond to what is actually happening.

If you are already thinking about how to approach next year’s event, or indeed Black Friday,  we are always happy to talk it through.