Amazon employees load packages on carts before being put on to trucks for distribution for Amazon's annual Prime Day event at an Amazon's DAX7 delivery station on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in South Gate, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon saw record sales for Prime Day this week as Prime members purchased more items than ever before, the company announced Thursday.
The Seattle e-commerce giant, which does not disclose how much it earns during the popular discount event, also said “millions” of customers joined Prime in the past three weeks to take advantage of the discount event, which ended right before midnight Pacific Standard Time on Thursday.
“Prime Day 2024 was a huge success thanks to the millions of Prime members globally who turned to Amazon for fantastic deals,” Doug Herrington, an Amazon executive who leads the company’s Prime and online shopping business, said in a statement included in the announcement.
Data from some third-party groups also indicated shoppers spent more this year during the two-day event.
Adobe Analytics, which tracks online sales, said consumers spent $14.2 billion on Tuesday and Wednesday, up 11% compared to last year.
Adobe noted the growth was driven partly by back-to-school shopping with big spikes in spending for products such as backpacks, lunchboxes and other stationary supplies. Consumers also spent more on electronics and home appliances, it added.
Adobe's numbers are not adjusted for inflation. However, it said consumer spending this year has not been driven by higher prices, but new demand. It pointed to its own data, which shows online prices have fallen for 22 months and were down 4.2% year-over-year in June.
Last week, the Labor Department reported overall consumer prices declined 0.1% from May to June after having remained flat the previous month.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
