Prime Big Deal Days has officially solidified itself as a major retail calendar
By Eileenpetkovic · October 10, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Prime Big Deal Days has officially solidified itself as a major retail calendar event. Here's what brands need to know:
💰 $26.4B in sales with a 12% increase in average order value tells us consumers are willing to spend (even before the big holiday shopping events)
💄 Beauty surged to 35% of purchases, suggesting successful Amazon promotion and shifting seasonal buying patterns. Meanwhile, household essentials remained steady at 26% (confirming shoppers aren't just scooping up trendy or techy items!!!)
🚀 Surge in Buy Now, Pay Later adoption (+9.5% YoY)
So, what is changing? The competitive dynamics around these high-velocity events continue to intensify. Advertising costs will likely see YoY increases across categories like consumables and health & wellness. For brands, this means clearer ROI requirements and portfolio decisions. Gone are the days of everything going on discount!
The brands winning in this environment are those balancing aggressive promotion with sustainable margins. Now is the time for brands to really comb through their YTD performance and figure out where their shoppers have been dropping off in the purchase journey. Some thoughts for Q4 prep:
👉 Take a look at your split between awareness and conversion tactics and be willing to move your % allocation through lead-in, during and lead-out
👉 Is your content conveying the full story? Are you giving the "elevator pitch" of your product in the first 5-10 seconds of a video, or waiting until 30 seconds in?
👉 How are you leveraging AMC data? My favorites: path-to-purchase & cross-over audiences
👉 When was the last time you did a full profitability analysis across your catalog? Do this now to ensure Q4 isn't packed with questions that are rooted in justifying retail media investments!