Amazon’s Prime Day triggered a massive spike in retail traffic thanks to generative AI tools. Adobe Analytics reported a 3,300% year-over-year increase in gen AI visits to U.S. retail sites during the July 8-11 event. That’s way above Adobe’s initial forecast.
Prime Day sales hit $24.1 billion, a 30.3% jump from last year — that’s basically two Black Fridays in one. Adobe originally predicted $23.8 billion and 28.4% growth but the actual numbers were even stronger.
Generative AI chatbots and browsers helped boost shopping traffic, though AI still trails behind traditional channels like paid search, which grabbed 28.5% of e-commerce sales and grew 5.6% YoY. Social media influencers proved crucial too, driving 19.9% of sales and converting buyers 10x more effectively than social media overall. 
Amazon didn’t share detailed Prime Day data, only calling it the biggest event ever with record sales and more items sold. They expanded Prime Day to four days, making year-over-year comparisons tricky.
Third-party data from Momentum Commerce showed early Prime Day sales down 35% on day one and two but surged 165% by day three — shoppers likely waited for deeper discounts.
Adobe flagged categories with huge gains this Prime Day: appliances (+112%), office supplies (+105%), electronics (+95%), books (+81%), tools/home improvement (+76%), home/garden (+58%), and baby/toddler (+55%).
Prime Day 2024 made clear AI-powered shopping is growing fast but hasn’t yet overtaken tried-and-true marketing strategies.
