A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Amazon's Prime Day started as a lure for shoppers during the summer lull. Then it spread to other stores with their own online deals. This week's Prime Day is actually four days long. NPR's Alina Selyukh reports they could be a retail gut check as tariffs loom.
ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: Last year, Amazon seller Brandon Fuhrmann had a great Prime Day.
BRANDON FUHRMANN: You know, one of my products sold, like, you know, 6,500 units, which was amazing.
SELYUKH: His company, Cooler Kitchen, sells kitchenware. And that hot seller?
FUHRMANN: So we have a bamboo cutting board with plastic inserts.
SELYUKH: Last year, it was 20% off. This year, even cheaper. But Prime Day is now different. It went from two days to double that time, stretching Tuesday through Friday, giving shoppers a lot of space to poke around the website.
FUHRMANN: But, yeah. I'm just not getting the traction that we got last year.
SELYUKH: Shoppers have been picky. They have been spending, but they're hunting for bargains and waiting for just the right deal. And there's more anxiety for sellers as they figure out how to navigate tariffs. For now, Fuhrmann and many others are still working through products they had shipped from China before President Trump hiked the cost to import. But those stockpiles are running out, and the next shipments will cost more. Retail expert Katherine Black says this has many sellers choosing to sit this Prime Day out.
KATHERINE BLACK: We're seeing some smaller suppliers in particular hold back.
SELYUKH: Black is a partner at the consulting firm Kearney.
BLACK: Many of them have said, you know what? I bought some inventory ahead, but I'm saving it for the fall. I need to not sell it at a deep, deep discount.
SELYUKH: Because it's not really worth it if future shipments will mean sellers have to raise prices to offset tariffs. Black says one reason Amazon launched a four-day sale instead of two could be to build a habit and loyalty, because loyal shoppers are more reliable when times get tough. Kitchenware seller Fuhrmann hopes the long game proves worthwhile.
FUHRMANN: We'll see how the four days plays out. I think it'll probably be a net positive, even if a lot of that urgency is kind of gone from it.
SELYUKH: According to Adobe, which tracks online purchases, on the first day of Prime Day sales, shoppers across Amazon and the rest of online stores did spend a new record of nearly $8 billion, with all four days expected to reach two Black Fridays' worth of shopping.
Alina Selyukh, NPR News.
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MARTÍNEZ: We should note that Amazon is among NPR's financial supporters and pays to distribute NPR content, but we cover it like any other company.
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm A Martínez.
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