Prime Day’s $26.3 billion surge raises the stakes for Big Lots buyers

Amazon’s Prime Day ran June 23 through June 26, a four-day stretch that came earlier than the company’s 2025 July timing. Adobe projected the 2026 event would generate $26.3 billion in U.S. e-commerce sales, about 9% more than last year, a scale that now shapes summer shopping far beyond Amazon’s own site.

That pressure shows up in where shoppers say they will look next. Numerator’s Prime Day tracker found consumers planning to compare prices with Walmart at 62%, Target at 41%, Costco at 27%, Best Buy at 17% and Temu at 10%. Etsy even built a campaign around the event, a sign that Prime Day has become a retail reference point for the season, not just a one-company sale.

For Big Lots, that matters because the chain is still rebuilding after a brutal year. Big Lots filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 9, 2024, after citing weak demand for furniture and home décor amid high interest rates, inflation and a sluggish housing market. When the Nexus Capital Management sale fell through, Big Lots reached a December 27, 2024 deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners and Variety Wholesalers, which reopened 219 stores in 2025 under the Big Lots banner. The store locator now shows 219 locations, and the jobs page says store-team openings exist in more than 220 stores across 17 states.

That smaller footprint leaves less room for error when shoppers start cross-checking every seasonal purchase against online deal events. Big Lots is still selling many of the same categories that get measured against Prime Day, including beach towels, grill brushes, patio furniture, outdoor décor, back-to-campus items, kids’ apparel, pets, groceries and other everyday essentials. Earlier summer promotions can force store teams to move faster on inventory pacing, keep markdowns visible and answer more price questions at the register and on the floor. For associates, the real test is whether the store can keep value obvious while customers are comparing one trip against several other retailers at once.