Constructor research: shoppers not looking beyond Amazon for deals despite competing retailer Prime Day promotions

Amazon wasn’t the only game in town when it came to Prime Day savings (8th-11th July) this year. Including the likes of Argos, JD Williams, and Boots, various UK and global retailers rolled out competing promotions, hoping to ride the Prime Day wave, with many seeing success.

But did shoppers know to look beyond Amazon for deals? And do they associate mid-July with widespread savings, the way they do around Black Friday? New data from Constructire suggests the answer is: not yet.

The company analysed over 160 million search queries across more than 100 retail sites during Prime Day 2024 and 2025. The data shows:

• Amazon’s Prime Day dominance is clear. While many retailers ran competing sales, Constructor’s data shows shoppers weren’t looking for them. There was no increase in sales-related searches (such as for “sale,” “promo” or “clearance”) on non-Amazon sites during the Prime Day period this year or last.

• That’s a sharp contrast to Black Friday. Across the same set of retailers, promo related search activity jumped by 1.5x during Black Friday 2024 - signalling shopper expectations around discounts at many different stores.

• Deal hunting searches vary across categories year-round. For instance, beauty shoppers are more likely to search for “sale,” fashion shoppers look for “sale” and “clearance,” and home improvement shoppers lean on terms like “offer” and “outlet.”

“For nearly a decade, Amazon has built Prime Day into more than just a mid-summer promotion - it’s become a cultural event that rivals Black Friday in terms of visibility and shopper engagement,” says Nate Roy, Strategic Director of E-commerce Innovation at Constructor.

“And in recent years, with many retailers and brands launching their own major promotions during that window, the result is a July sales landscape that’s increasingly crowded - and coordinated.” 

“But despite these parallel efforts, the data shows that most shoppers aren’t trained to look for deals across other sites. Even though early sales results from other retailers have been promising, our data suggests that they have yet to fully capitalise on the opportunity - there’s still a lot of potential left on the table.”

“To capture it, retailers need to find ways to increase awareness. It’s not enough to just run a sale; to maximise effectiveness, you’ve got to let people know it exists. That means using personalised marketing and making sure your site’s search, navigation, and other product discovery tools draw attention to deals and make them easy to find.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Online retail will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.