Walmart’s Summer Sales Surge Past Amazon: What It Means for Suppliers Heading Into Holiday 2025

Walmart Outpaces Amazon’s Prime Event—By a Wide Margin

Amazon stretched its Prime Day promotion to four days this year, from July 16–19, and hailed it as the “biggest Prime event in history.” But behind the headlines, a more significant story was unfolding: Walmart’s online sales during its competing event grew six times faster than Amazon’s.

According to consumer analytics firm Bloomberg Second Measure, Walmart saw 24% year-over-year sales growth during its promotion—a sharp contrast to Amazon’s modest 4.9% increase, as reported by Adobe Analytics. Even more telling: 49% of Prime Day shoppers also made purchases during Walmart’s event, according to data from Numerator. That number was up from 45% in 2023, showing Walmart’s increasing ability to convert Amazon’s core shoppers.

This isn’t just a win in retail rivalry—it’s a signal that Walmart’s digital strategy is working, and it has big implications for how suppliers should plan their Q4 strategies.

More Time, More Price Comparison—Walmart Wins the Value Shopper

Retail analyst Rachel Wolff of eMarketer noted that Amazon’s decision to extend Prime Day to four days gave shoppers more time to comparison shop—a trend that ultimately benefited Walmart.

“People had more time to compare prices,” Wolff said. “Maybe you put it in your cart, but you wait until the last day to make that purchase.” In that time, Walmart appears to have intercepted a significant number of those conversions, thanks in part to its aggressive pricing and week-long event cadence that didn’t limit urgency, but instead capitalized on consumer behavior shifts.

It’s worth noting that 8% of Prime Day shoppers also visited Walmart.com, up from 5% the year prior. That’s a meaningful lift in digital traffic for Walmart during a week when Amazon historically dominates.

Retail’s Seasonal Clock Just Shifted—Again

One of the key themes across both Amazon and Walmart’s mid-summer promotions is calendar pull-forward. According to Wolff, Prime Day’s timing isn’t just about summer—it’s become a trigger for early back-to-school and even early holiday shopping. “As we saw, Prime Day has been pulling forward back-to-school spending. Well, the October sales are pulling forward holiday spending,” she said.

Adobe Analytics reported a 30.3% year-over-year increase in total U.S. e-commerce sales during the July 16–19 period, beating forecasts. Total online sales reached $24.1 billion across all retailers. This shows that while Amazon may still drive event awareness, Walmart and others are clearly capturing significant portions of consumer spend—especially from budget-conscious shoppers.

Shoppers Aren’t Splurging—They’re Stocking Up

The sales event data reveals a shift in consumer behavior: purchases were focused less on discretionary items and more on essentials. Zak Stambor, also with eMarketer, pointed out that customers used the events to “stock up on household necessities” rather than splurge.

This lines up with broader macroeconomic signals. While the U.S. consumer remains resilient, inflation fatigue and lingering economic uncertainty have pushed many to become more deliberate in their spending. Walmart, long positioned as a leader in value, is uniquely equipped to meet those expectations—and it’s showing in the numbers.

What This Means for Walmart Suppliers

For suppliers, the takeaway is loud and clear: Walmart is gaining meaningful ground in the digital retail landscape—not just holding steady, but outperforming its biggest rival in key promotional periods.

As we head into back-to-school and holiday, this shift matters for several reasons:

• Holiday Spending Will Start Earlier: Consumers are starting to view these seasonal sales events as their best chance to save. This means suppliers must be ready to activate earlier—with inventory, media, and pricing strategies that meet shoppers when they’re actually buying, not just when the calendar says they should.
• Price Competition Will Intensify: With shoppers scrutinizing prices across retailers, value messaging and competitive pricing are non-negotiable. Suppliers should expect a highly promotional holiday season—and prepare by tightening forecasts, optimizing PDPs, and ensuring consistent pricing across channels.
• Retail Media Will Drive Outcomes: As Amazon looks to expand its Prime events again in October, and Walmart Connect becomes more deeply embedded in omnichannel planning, suppliers will need to make sharper bets with their retail media investments. Prioritizing measurement, experimentation, and real-time responsiveness will be key.
• Walmart’s Share of Wallet Is Expanding: With half of Prime Day shoppers also making purchases at Walmart, there’s an opportunity to ride the wave of dual-platform shopping behavior. That means getting the basics right—search optimization, in-stock performance, and competitive content—has never been more important.

Final Thoughts

Amazon may have extended Prime Day, but Walmart extended its lead in value-driven digital retail. With stronger sales growth, increased traffic overlap, and a retail calendar that keeps creeping forward, Walmart is showing that it’s not just keeping up with Amazon—it’s building a different kind of playbook, one that’s rooted in price leadership, omnichannel strength, and strategic timing.

For Walmart suppliers and sellers, now is the time to lean into that momentum. The next battleground isn’t months away—it’s already begun.

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