Big boxers see traffic boom during Amazon Prime event

Santa Cruz, Calif. — Consumers treated Prime Day 2026 as a multi-retailer shopping event, driven part by competing promotions from store-based retailers.

Data from market research firm Numerator found that 52% of shoppers compared prices across retailers, with Walmart being the most commonly checked retailer (67%), followed by Target (41%) and club retailers (28%).

Foot traffic analysis from Placer.ai identified four big box retailers that reaped the greatest benefit: Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy.

Target achieved the strongest year-over-year performance during the four-day event (June 23-26), while Best Buy came out on top with the strongest boost in incremental traffic, according to Placer.ai’s new report: What Prime Week 2026 Reveals About Today’s Shopper.

“Analyzing offline traffic to major retailers during Prime Day 2026 suggests that, although sentiment may be near record lows and value-seeking may now be a fixed habit, the appetite to spend is still there – although it has become more deliberate,” the Placer.ai report concluded.

Numerator’s preliminary results reflected that deliberation, finding that Prime Day 2026 ended with average household spending dropping by 10% compared to last year. Fewer shoppers splurged on consumer electronics this year (down 5 points to 14%), and overall deal satisfaction also fell back. Sixty percent said they were extremely or very satisfied with the Prime Day deals they perused, down from 67%  last year.

Amazon’s Home Goods category (bedding, décor, furniture, etc.) was shopped by 23% of Prime members during the event, falling to the 5^th most shopped category. During the summer 2025 Prime Day event, Home Goods was the 3^rd most shopped category, generating purchases from about 25% of purchasers.

“After a slower start compared to last year, Prime Day shopping picked up slightly in the final 48 hours of the sale. However, this year’s Prime Day shoppers shied away from big-ticket purchases that were a hallmark of past events, prioritizing savings on essentials in an inflationary environment,” said Amanda Schoenbauer, Numerator analyst.