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Amazon Prime Day by the Numbers: National Trends + Our Findings

  • Writer: Ridgeline Insights
    Ridgeline Insights
  • Aug 11
  • 2 min read
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From the 2025 Q2 Benchmark Report (via Pacvue + Helium 10):

  • 📈 +19.2% YoY increase in average daily Amazon ad spend during Prime Day.

  • 📉 ROAS dropped -2.6% YoY, reflecting a value-driven shopper base and higher media costs.

  • 🛒 Conversion rates peaked at 22.1% on Day 1, with Grocery and Household Essentials leading in performance.

  • 💥 Day 1 was the strongest sales day, with another major spike on Day 4 (Friday), marking the first time Prime Day extended to a weekend.

  • 📱 Electronics topped ROAS charts at $13.43, while TikTok-led discovery commerce drove new-to-brand (NTB) conversions, peaking at 52.6% NTB sales on Day 1.

  • 🧼 65% of items sold were under $20, underscoring a consumer shift toward essentials and practical purchases.


As pricing pressures, tariff uncertainty, and cost-consciousness shaped shopper behavior, brands leaned into aggressive front-loaded spend and category-specific targeting.


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What We Saw Across Our Brands

With a four-day promotional window and a more distributed demand curve, the brands we manage saw significant YoY growth—but the story was nuanced:


🛍️ Sales Performance: +15.8% YoY

Sales lifted notably across our portfolio compared to the 2-day Prime Day in 2024. However, the extended duration didn’t mean sales were evenly spread—Day 1 remained dominant.


📦 Order Volume: +49.2% YoY

More orders were placed this year, driven by strategic discounting, better inventory positioning, and broader participation in high-intent categories.


📈 Units Sold: +49.7% YoY

Lower average selling prices meant more items were purchased per order, reinforcing the national trend of shoppers prioritizing value.


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Advertising Trends Across Our Accounts

With Prime Day running from Tuesday to Friday, pacing spend became critical. Here’s how ad investments played out across our managed brands:


💰 Ad Spend

Ad budgets grew to meet the opportunity of a longer event, and our brands collectively increased spend significantly compared to 2024.


💸 ROAS: 3.07

Return on ad spend across our accounts averaged just over 3x, slightly below historical Prime Day peaks, reflecting both higher CPCs and a more price-sensitive shopper.


📊 Efficiency + Conversion

Despite higher spend, our brands saw stronger CVR, particularly in the Grocery, Health, and Everyday Essentials categories.


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What We Learned

  1. Pacing Matters: Front-loading spend is still critical, but Day 4 proved valuable for capturing deal-savvy, last-minute shoppers.

  2. Discovery Commerce Is Here: External traffic sources like TikTok continue to play a major role in driving high-intent traffic to Amazon listings.

  3. Value Over Volume: Brands that focused on low-ASP, everyday-use items benefited the most from this year’s economic environment.

  4. Ad Strategy Needs Flexibility: With Prime Day stretching longer and overlapping with other retail events, dynamic budget shifts and dayparting strategies made a big impact.


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Final Takeaway

This year’s Prime Day wasn’t just longer—it was more layered. From TikTok-fueled awareness plays to conversion-focused essentials, the 2025 event showcased the full-funnel nature of modern retail media. Brands that leaned into agility, front-loaded their spend, and emphasized value were rewarded.


We continue to find that Prime Exclusive Discounts are the best converting, bang for your buck, promotional strategy.


As we head into Q4 and look toward the holiday season, these learnings will shape how we prepare for what’s next—because in today’s retail environment, Prime Day is no longer just a moment. It’s a movement.

 
 
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