Amazon sellers get out of Prime Day amid Trump’s tariffs
Amazon sellers are withdrawing from Prime Day due to Trump’s tariffs. Some third-party merchants who previously sold Chinese-made products have been pulled back this year. The consultants say it’s a way for sellers to protect profit margins amid trade wars.
They have engagement and economic uncertainty in the minds of shoppers in preparation for Amazon’s Summer Prime Day sales.
However, at least one company predicts that sales at online sales events will break records as budget-conscious shoppers are looking to trade.
Amazon is holding annual Prime Day sales from July 8th to July 11th. This is twice as long as last year’s event. Open to Prime members, the event also offers early access transactions.
Still, some Amazon third-party sellers are sitting on this best day amidst pressure from customs.
Adobe forecasts Amazon Prime Day sales to top $23 billion
According to Adobe, a forecast released on July 7th, consumers are expected to spend $23.8 billion in sales on Amazon Prime Days. It said this is an increase of 28.4% year-on-year, $9.6 billion more than last year’s equivalent period. Last year, shoppers spent $14.2 billion on a two-day Amazon Prime event, according to Adobe.
Adobe said the Prime Days discount is expected to remain at a historically high level, on par with the major deals consumers saw during sales cuts last year. Overall, discounts across US retailers range from 10% to 24% of list prices, with apparel expected to make its biggest deal at 24%, Adobe said. Other categories that received the majority of discounts include electronics (22%), TV (17%), appliances (16%), toys (15%) furniture (14%), computers (12%) and sports goods (10%).
Consumers are also expected to “trade up” to expensive items based on strong discounts, according to Adobe.
Tariffs affect consumer purchase plans
US shoppers said in two separate investigations ahead of Prime Days that the looming tariffs play a role in the way they shop.
In a 2025 Summer Expense Survey of 1,024 US Shoppers by Smarty, an online shopping rewards app, shoppers were fairly evenly divided on how tariffs were affecting Amazon’s sales shopping habits. Thirty-two percent of shoppers said they were more selective about purchasing due to budget constraints, while 25% planned to buy more items to avoid expected future price increases. Another 23% said they would focus on categories that are likely to be affected by tariffs.
“Prime Day this July represents the perfect storm of seasonal shopping and economic unrest,” Smarty founder and CEO Vipin Porwal said in a press release. “Consumers are taking advantage of discounts as hedges against potential future price increases in tariff-affected categories as well as impending needs. Prime Day is an early indicator of consumer relief when using key sales events as an opportunity to make strategic purchases ahead of expected price changes.”
Another survey of 1,000 consumers by Ankeneo found that half or more, or 57% of those surveyed, said that prices are affecting Prime Day shopping habits, while 25% say they plan to skip or buy because there is a possibility of price increases. Four percent of shoppers surveyed said they were planning to shop with other retailers, according to a survey by Ankeneo, a software company that works with product retailers.
Some sellers are not participating in Amazon Prime Day Sales
Some third-party merchants who previously sold Chinese-made products at Amazon’s July event were also some third-party merchants who said earlier this year that Reuters would sit down this year or reduce the amount of discounted items they offer.
Pullback was a way for sellers to protect profit margins amid the US trade war.
In April, Kim Vaccarella, CEO of China-Made Tote Bag Company Bogg Bag, told Reuters that she had decided to skip Prime Day this year. Vaccarella said he wanted to keep some of his unsold inventory and wanted to sell to retailers and smaller, independent shops at full prices or small discounts. She also stopped producing bags, which are sold on Amazon for $70 to $200, but the manufacturing industry worked to move to Cambodia and Vietnam.
Small third-party Amazon sellers are more affected by tariff costs than larger retailers, says Katherine Black, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney, leads food, drugs and mass market retailers.
“Look, I’ve made some positive purchases, but I keep that stock in order to sell the full price to manage the exposure, but I won’t take part this year,” Black told USA Today.
Great deals are still available
There will still be many deals shoppers can choose from during Prime Days, Black said. She expects she may be looking at big, showcase deals from big brands every day.
“These are techniques that retailers see when they are trying to promote traffic,” she said.
Lauren Beitelspacher, a professor of marketing at Babson University in Wellesley, Massachusetts, believes it includes areas of research, including retail, as consumers are particularly price-conscious and tariff disruptions.
“I think customers are just able to get deals everywhere,” she told USA Today.
A 10% tariff on goods imported into the US began in April, with additional “mutual” tariffs on imports from over 70 countries. President Donald Trump later delayed mutual tariffs until July 9th. The White House announced that its deadline will be extended until August 1st on July 7th.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA Today. Contact her at blinfisher @usatoday.com or follow her on X, Facebook, or Instagram @Blinfisher, @Blinfisher.bsky.social.. Sign up for our free daily money newsletter. This includes Friday’s Consumer News.
