Amazon sellers are offering fewer discounts during this week’s annual Prime Day sales event, saying their margins are too tight as they battle high costs from President Trump’s tariffs, according to a report.
The online sellers pulling back on deals account for approximately 60% of the products sold on Amazon, according to a Bloomberg, as the four-day sales bonanza kicked off Tuesday.
Dan Peskorske, whose Upstream Brands sells aluminum trays that make decorative ice cubes for cocktails, typically sells his products at cost on Prime Day to boost sales.
But he told Bloomberg his company is unable to offer any discounts this year for the first time because of the 50% tariff on aluminum.
“We’re just gonna see what happens this year,” said Peskorske, whose St. Louis-based company generates about $4 million in annual sales, most of that from Amazon.
“There’s just no room in the budget for Prime Day discounts.”
Unilever Plc’s Blueair typically offers discounts of about 30% on its air purifiers and humidifiers during Prime Day to promote the brand.
But it’s been forced to reduce the number of products on sale this year due to tariffs, according to CEO Andy Lu.
“We want to be cautious to see how this economy plays out for the rest of the year,” Lu told Bloomberg. “This Prime Day has so much meaning as an indicator for brand owners and operators.”
An Amazon spokesperson said the company is seeing a strong response from selling partners for this year’s Prime Day event.
“We’re working with our broad, varied range of valued selling partners in our store to support them in adapting to the developing environment while maintaining low prices and broad selection for customers,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Post.
The sales event, which was extended for an additional two days this year, is expected to generate $23.8 billion in online sales for Amazon and other US retailers, according to Adobe Inc.
It’s unclear how the longer sales period will impact Amazon’s Prime Day event.
“You don’t have that sense of urgency that Prime Day seemed to be built around,” Katie Thomas, head of the Kearney Consumer Institute, told Bloomberg. “The longer sales period might lead to cart abandonment.”
The Prime Days will also offer a litmus test on the health of US consumers.
About 25% of respondents in a survey of 1,000 US shoppers said they plan to skip the event altogether due to tariffs, while more than half said they will be closely monitoring prices, according to Akeneo, which sells software used by online merchants.
“Prime Day will provide an early indication on consumer appetite, especially in categories like apparel, electronics and TVs, where price drops are expected to be the deepest,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe, told Bloomberg.
Trump unveiled hefty “Liberation Day” tariffs on most trading partners in April, before pausing them for 90 days. On Monday, he extended the pause until Aug. 1.
Retail sales have started to fall following massive front-loading as customers snapped up goods ahead of the tariffs – like a surge in car sales before Trump’s 25% levy on foreign vehicles took effect.
Amazon also is facing increased competition from other large retailers, like Walmart’s six-day Deals event, which also started Tuesday, and Target’s Circle Week that launched Sunday.
Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy have also ramped up their summer sales offerings.
Though smaller merchants are struggling to offer discounts this year, these massive e-commerce events are still expected to see a rush of sales.
Online sales from July 8 to July 11 are expected to surge 28.4% compared with the same period last year, according to Adobe.
US shoppers will spend nearly $13 billion on Amazon alone over the four-day period, up 59% from last year when Prime Day lasted just two days, according to EMarketer Inc.
Tariffs, which are expected to drive up prices this summer, have pushed some shoppers to start their back-to-school purchases before August, which is especially early in the season, according to Coresight Research.
“It’s the big hurrah before fall sets in and the tariff prices start kicking in,” Matt Pavich, the senior director of strategy and innovation at Revionics, a retail price-optimization company, told the New York Times.
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