🎙️Prime Big Deal Days Data Breakdown With the Acadia Team

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Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast!

In this episode, Director of Retail Media at Acadia, Ross Walker, is joined by cohost and retail roundup resident expert, Armin Alispahic, stepping in for the show's regular hosts, Julie Spear and Jordan Ripley.

Today's discussion dives into all the trends, data, and hot takes from this week's Prime Big Deal Days event. Recorded midday on Friday, October 10th, just 48 hours after Prime Day wrapped, the episode captures early insights and fresh perspectives on what really happened.

Joining Ross and Armin are four Acadia team members:

From the Account Management team, Gavin Farnan and Michael Childers cover the operations and organic performance side of the event, while Spencer Selden and Carlos Sastre bring their expertise from the media side.

The data may still be settling, but that's never stopped this team from sharing their verdict on Prime Day's success.

Let's jump into the conversation.

Quote:

"This is a year when widespread use of AMC, not just for analysis, but for audience building, would allow for a lot of unlocks during the lead-in, during the day of, and for lead-out strategies."

Ross Walker

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, the team discusses:

• Event Overview: Amazon's October Prime Big Deal Days 2025 was shorter, sharper, and strategically focused, reflecting a more disciplined retail environment.

• Two-Day Format: Amazon scaled back from four days to two, addressing buyer fatigue, fulfillment constraints, and profitability for sellers.

• Sales Performance: Net sales rose 72% year-over-year, with balanced performance across both days and increasing importance ahead of Q4.

• Top Performer Strategies: Leading brands combined strong deal depth, off-Amazon traffic, and unbranded campaigns to outperform despite rising CPCs.

• Profitability Focus: Brands prioritized margin protection, promoting fewer SKUs and using data to guide selective discounting.

• Consumer Behavior: Demand remained steady across both days; shoppers responded best to targeted, value-driven offers over blanket discounts.

• Brand Building: Sustained awareness and off-Amazon visibility proved essential — major event success began long before the sale.

• Platform Challenges: Some sellers faced real-time PED eligibility changes, pricing inconsistencies, and temporary reporting delays.

• Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC): AMC emerged as a key differentiator, powering smarter targeting, lookalike modeling, and cross-sell opportunities.

• Inventory & Merchandising: Brands took a selective, profit-first approach — focusing on hero products and navigating new Best Deal cost structures.

• Pricing & Visibility: Inconsistencies in Amazon's badging rules persisted, but overall visibility improved thanks to fewer, higher-quality deals.

• Post-Event Strategy: The lead-out period is crucial — retargeting, brand-tailored promotions, and consistent visibility bridge into Q4 success.

• Core Lesson: Prime Big Deal Days wasn't just a sales event — it was a test run for Q4, revealing that focus and flexibility now define winning brands.