U.S. online sales climb to record $14.2 billion

Online spending in the U.S. surged 11% year over year to $14.2 billion during Amazon‘s 48-hour Prime Day event, topping estimates and setting a new record, according to Adobe Analytics.

Adobe said the strong showing was driven by back-to-school shopping and an “apparent product refresh cycle,” as consumers looked to snap up new tablets, TVs and Bluetooth speakers in droves. That’s a shift from last year, when inflation-weary shoppers used the discount event to stock up on household essentials like pantry staples and office supplies.

The company had predicted U.S. shoppers would spend $14 billion online during the two-day event. Adobe tracks transactions not just on Amazon but also across a wide swath of U.S. retail sites. Amazon’s Prime Day event, which ran Tuesday and Wednesday, has become a big revenue driver for other retailers, which often hold competing sales timed around Prime Day.

Amazon said Thursday it also saw “record-breaking” Prime Day revenue, though it didn’t disclose total sales from the event. The company touted its Rufus shopping assistant, which uses generative artificial intelligence to suggest products and give order updates, saying the tool “helped millions” of shoppers browse the site. Amazon last week made Rufus available to all U.S. users after testing it with a subset of shoppers.

Numerator, which tracked purchases across more than 35,500 households, said shoppers spent more per order this year, with an average order size of $57.97, up from $54.05 during last year’s event. Shoppers snapped up Amazon-branded Fire TV sticks, Premier protein shakes and Liquid IV packets, while home goods and household essentials, as well as apparel and shoes, were among the top categories, the firm found.

“Shoppers purchased fewer big-ticket items than we’ve seen in past years, and fewer participants placed multiple orders throughout the sale, indicating a shift to more conscious shopping and a preference for saving over splurging,” Numerator analyst Amanda Schoenbauer said in a statement.

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