During Prime Big Deal Days, I shared what shoppers were up to. This week I’ve be
By Melissaburdick · October 22, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
During Prime Big Deal Days, I shared what shoppers were up to. This week I’ve been digging through the data on the advertiser side. While shoppers filled carts, brands were fighting it out in the auctions behind the scenes across Amazon, Walmart, and Target:
🛍️ Amazon: Day 1 outperformed Day 2 across the board. Sponsored Products CPC was down -10% YoY on Day 1 (vs. -4% on Day 2), and ROAS followed the same pattern. Advertisers responded by pushing more spend into Day 2 to chase stragglers, which drove costs higher in the event’s final 24 hours. At the category level, Health & Household carried the highest CPC of any category ($2.39) as advertisers fought for necessity-driven shoppers, while Toys & Games stayed surprisingly cheap ($0.63) – a sign brands are saving firepower for Cyber 5.
🛒 Walmart: Deal Days ran a full week, and Sponsored Products stayed remarkably consistent. ROAS never moved more than $0.10 across the five days we tracked, even as spend came in well above last year’s levels every single day (+26% to +48% YoY). Sponsored Brands told a different story, peaking on Day 2 ($3.25 ROAS), suggesting shoppers who’d been comparison-shopping across Amazon’s and Target’s shorter events turned their full attention to Walmart once those wrapped.
🎯 Target: Circle Deal Days saw spend climb YoY both days (+19% Day 1, +29% Day 2), and CTR nearly doubled (+94% and +89% YoY), showing that the extra investment drove real engagement. While ROAS dipped -10% YoY on both days, it landed at $5.61 and $5.52 respectively, so profitability held up even as efficiency cooled slightly.
There's plenty more where this came from. Full coverage of Prime Big Deal Days, Walmart Deals, and Target Circle Deal Days in Pacvue's Complete Deal Days Recap Report (link in comments).