The summer’s biggest retail sales events did more than create a larger shopping crowd. Their overlap also changed who showed up, how much they spent and how consumers moved between retailers.

A PYMNTS Intelligence report, “The Overlap Effect: How Amazon and Walmart Expanded the Crowd and Shrank the Basket,” examined the first-ever overlap between Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deals in June 2026. Rather than simply dividing shoppers between the two events, the combined promotions drew millions of additional consumers into the market. At the same time, average spending per shopper declined at both retailers, suggesting that the larger audience included more consumers focused on finding specific deals rather than filling their carts.

Key Findings:

• 64% U.S. consumers shopped at least one of the two sales events in 2026, compared to 33% who participated in either event in 2025.
• 29% of consumers shopped both events in 2026, up from 19% in 2025, while the share that participated in neither fell from 48% to 7%.
• Baby boomers and seniors increased their participation by 120% at Amazon and 263% at Walmart, while millennials’ spending declined 26% at Amazon and 35% at Walmart.

Older consumers drove much of the increase in participation, bringing a different spending pattern to the events. Amazon’s average spend fell to $308 from $360 a year earlier, while Walmart’s dropped to $326 from $484. Groceries proved relatively resilient at Walmart, accounting for 49% of event shoppers, down from 55% in 2025. Amazon, meanwhile, gained ground in clothing and accessories and held steady in beauty.

The overlap also gave shoppers more opportunities to compare prices. Seventy-four percent of consumers who participated in both events checked prices between Amazon and Walmart, and 46% said price alone determined where they purchased. Still, the increased comparison shopping did not eliminate opportunities for retailers to generate additional sales. Twenty-six percent of shoppers who participated in both events said they spent more than they otherwise would have because the promotions ran during the same week.

The report also points to a changing shopping journey. Twenty-one percent of participants used an artificial intelligence chatbot or assistant while shopping, rising to 35% among Generation Z. Among those AI users, 38% used the technology to compare prices across retailers and 36% used it to find deals. Seventy-four percent ultimately bought at least one product mainly based on an AI recommendation.

Taken together, the summer data suggests that large-scale sales events can still bring new consumers into digital commerce, even as shoppers become more deliberate about what they purchase. For retailers, the opportunity lies in converting those newly engaged shoppers into regular customers as they become more comfortable comparing prices, using digital tools and shopping across multiple platforms.

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