Amazon Prime Day Sales Surge as Walmart Moves Into Shoppable TV

Online spending on Amazon's Prime Day reached $8.3 billion on the first day, surpassing Adobe's forecast of $7.9 billion and putting the four‑day event on track for a $26.3 billion total, up about 9 % year‑over‑year. The strong performance was bolstered by overlapping promotions from rivals Walmart and Target, with consumers buying electronics, appliances, tools and household essentials.

Meanwhile, Walmart is deepening its battle for shoppers' attention by acquiring French ad‑tech startup Vibe for $1.4 billion, adding to its 2024 purchase of Vizio. The deal equips Walmart with self‑service software for connected‑TV ads and expands its "shoppable TV" platform, which it says lifted related sales by nearly 40 % and digital sales by more than 50 %. Amazon’s own advertising arm reported $70 billion in revenue over the last 12 months, underscoring the growing importance of retail media in the competition.