Amazon Prime Day sales fall short, retail industry faces disappointing end-to-year: Report
Prime Day event that concluded Wednesday, a sequel to Amazon’s big sales promotion in July, is being closely scrutinized for signs of how the retail industry will fare during the holidays. Prime Day has morphed into a sector-wide bonanza, with retailers from Walmart Inc. to Macy’s Inc.
running competing events in both summer and fall. While not as big as the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend, it does give retailers clues about consumers’ mood. When sales in October are humdrum, it isn’t a good sign.
Amazon brought in an estimated $144.53 in average spending per customer for the retailer, amounting to a 2% increase from last year’s tally, according to Facteus. But for other retailers running competing discounts this week, sales fell by an estimated 1% compared with last year, according to Salesforce. Those are sales losses Amazon competitors can’t afford.
Retailers entered the fourth quarter under a lot of pressure. A slowdown in consumer spending on nice-to-have goods has dealt a blow to top-line growth. Best Buy Co.
Inc., Dollar Tree Inc. and Target Corp. all have narrowed their guidance for the rest of the year, saying inflation has put a crimp in consumers’ shopping habits.
Gap Inc.’s Old Navy brand said demand over the summer was noticeably weaker among its lower-income customers. Home-improvement rivals Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
and Home Depot Inc. both saw sales declines and shoppers foregoing large DIY projects for smaller ones. Macy’s said its shoppers have become more intentional about how they use their disposable income, leading to slower sales growth.
Retail rivals Amazon and Walmart are entering the season on stronger footing. A behemoth like Amazon can better afford to offer discounts. It has an estimated 167
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