Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) kicked off the 2025 holiday season with its Prime Big Deal Days, prompting most retailers to launch rival promotions aimed at capturing early consumer spending.
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This year’s event took place on October 7-8, and looking at the data, TAG analyst Joe Feldman’s initial take is a positive one. According to Google Trends data, Amazon’s website traffic jumped roughly 21% in the first 36 hours of the event compared to the previous five days, reflecting a “robust response” to the Prime Big Deal Days.
The company apparently made good use of its partnerships with major brands – including Ashley Furniture, Crayola, Dyson, Disney, Gap, Levi’s, New Balance, and Swarovski – delivering attractive deals that drew in shoppers, while Feldman says the fast, free shipping “added value and convenience.” The company also continued to utilize Rufus, its generative AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, to help customers discover special offers and gift ideas.
Competitors, however, knew what was coming. Traditional retailers were prepared and responded aggressively to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, with strong inventory positions and active promotions. Costco held its Member Savings Event, Target ran its Circle Week event between October 5–11, and Walmart launched its Walmart Deals event (October 7–12). TAG’s Research team reviewed promotional activity across 68 retailers and brands. Based on this study, it seems about 16 (~24%) were more promotional than in October 2024, 31 (~46%) maintained a similar level to last year, and 14 (~21%) were less promotional. The remaining 7 (~10%) showed mixed or unclear trends compared to last year.
“Overall,” said Feldman, “we believe Amazon executed well on Prime Big Deal Days – including marketing effectively before and during the event, offering a wide assortment at attractive prices, and executing efficiently. Prime Big Deal Days also helped to put Amazon at the front of consumers’ minds as they think of shopping this holiday season, which should support growth.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Feldman thinks Amazon is well-positioned to keep expanding its market share by capitalizing on its “sticky” Prime membership base, strong partnerships with small businesses, and “technological edge.” Its ability to drive growth across key areas – such as grocery, private labels, pharmacy, logistics, and generative AI – should further boost its long-term value. Meanwhile, the “solid growth and profitability” of AWS and advertising should keep on providing support for the retail segment.
Bottom line, Feldman maintained an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating on the shares along with a $265 price target. Should all go as planned, investors will be pocketing returns of 22% a year from now. (To watch Feldman’s track record, click here)
The Street’s average price target is only slightly higher; at $267.77, the figure points to one-year gains of ~24%. Amazon gets plenty of analyst coverage and all of it is positive; based on a unanimous 43 Buys, the stock claims a Strong Buy consensus rating. (See AMZN stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.