Loyalty Takes a Back Seat in the Summer Discount Wars

When eCommerce sales go live, consumers in the United States open their apps, scroll flash deals and fill carts.

While they do their shopping across all platforms, they’re not playing any favorites beyond price.

The fact that Walmart’s Walmart+ event ran April 28 to May 4 while Amazon’s Prime Day event ran July 8 to 11 just meant more chances for more deals to a new, fast-growing consumer segment: the dual-event shopper.

The July PYMNTS Intelligence report “Speed Versus Spend: Who Shopped Amazon and Walmart’s Deal Days and Why” revealed that shoppers participating in both Prime Day and Walmart+ Week, a Walmart+ members-only event, drove most of the growth in participation.

That means the most valuable customer isn’t just loyal to one ecosystem but is engaged in many. Smart retailers are learning how to play that flexibility to their advantage.

Marketing Playbooks Behind the Summer Discount Wars

The evolution of Prime Day and Walmart+ Week signals a broader trend that summer discounts are no longer about sales alone. Instead, they’re becoming about recalibrating loyalty. These events are carefully, and increasingly, choreographed moments of consumer reprogramming.

Amazon, the once-primary architect of this summer shopping spectacle, kept its core tactic of deals for Prime members only unchanged, reinforcing the Prime subscription as a gateway and reward. Yet the eCommerce giant’s execution was more sophisticated than ever.

Amazon deployed real-time app notifications, dynamic homepage banners and a tidal wave of digital ads that followed users across platforms. Even Prime Video got in on the action, inserting retail tie-ins between content streams.

The average Amazon Prime Day participant spent $360 this year, an increase of just over 10% from 2024, the report found. The average Walmart+ Week shopper spent $484, a nearly 11% rise.

The idea of comparison shopping is as old as commerce itself. But what’s changing is the volume, velocity and intent behind that behavior. Dual-event shoppers are not just hunting for random bargains; they’re executing orchestrated shopping strategies.

Against that backdrop, the PYMNTS Intelligence data found that the quality and availability of Walmart’s deals improved more than those of Amazon. Specifically, 53% of Walmart+ Week participants who completed purchases both this year and last year said this year’s deals in general were better.

Read the report: Speed Versus Spend: Who Shopped Amazon and Walmart’s Deal Days and Why

The report also found that many consumers load up digital carts ahead of each event, monitor price drops in real time, and spread purchases across platforms based on value, availability and perks like free shipping or same-day delivery.

As these events mature, the consumer playbook is evolving and suggests that loyalty programs alone are not moats.

Speed, for example, was the breakout star in both retail events. Walmart+ Week participants were more likely than Prime Day shoppers to cite shipping time as a key factor influencing their decision to buy furniture, consumer electronics, appliances, health products, travel services and more.

For retailers, this creates opportunity and peril. On one hand, dual shoppers offer more transaction volume. On the other hand, they’re less loyal to platform identity. They’ll go where the best value lives, not necessarily where their membership lies.

Instead, retailers must deliver consistent, personalized value across multiple touch points and be prepared to do so more than once a year. The holiday season and its accompanying retail warfare are around the corner, and learnings from May and July will inform November’s playbook.