First held in July 2015, Amazon Prime Day has become an annual fixture for shoppers looking for an online bargain.

This year’s event starts today (8 July). And for the first time it will run for four days, finishing on Friday (11 July). As well as being a key time for shoppers and retailers, it’s also an important period for marketers.

Marketing Beat hears from six industry figures about what the expanded event will mean for the industry.

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Charmaine Tavassoly Moss, business development lead, Europe at Bauer Media Outdoor UK:

This year marks the first time Prime Day will span four days, giving brands and advertisers an extended window to influence purchase decisions and drive meaningful results.

But with more time comes more competition for attention in an already saturated online environment.

While e-commerce remains a vital growth channel, consumer spending is under pressure, and digital clutter is at an all-time high.

Out of Home (OOH) advertising offers a powerful way to cut through, delivering timely, high-impact brand moments in the real world. It’s not just about awareness – searches prompted by OOH are 38% more likely to result in a purchase, making it a key performance driver during retail peaks like Prime Day.

Programmatic OOH (prOOH) takes this further, enabling brands to run contextually relevant, data-driven campaigns in real-time.

With access to rich first, second, and third-party data, advertisers can target their audiences with precision at key moments, bridging the gap between physical presence and digital action.

In a climate of consumer scepticism, where 36% still don’t trust online-only brands, OOH brings trust and visibility.

It is public, credible, and proven to be more trustworthy than social media, offering brands an edge as they compete for attention and conversion over the extended Prime Day period.

Guy Jackson, chief commercial officer, RAAS LAB:

As consumers look to make the most of Prime Day discounts, the big challenge for advertisers will be rising above the noise. There is one key answer to this, and that is pushing creativity to stand out and deliver campaigns that truly resonate.

This means leveraging enriched, impression-level signals to deliver more precise and relevant creative messaging.

While traditional segmentation can work for broad groups, by harnessing real-time, granular signals, retail advertisers can tailor their creativity in the moment and to the consumers most likely to purchase, thereby increasing the likelihood of meaningful engagement.

Crucially, it’s AI that makes this level of hyper-relevance possible, digesting vast streams of data in real-time to inform dynamic, context-aware creative decisions.

Those retail brands who are leveraging agentic AI tools to combine their creative with these insights will see their Prime Day media reach its full potential.

This innovative brand storytelling, powered by impression-level signals, will enable retail advertisers to differentiate themselves, cut through the noise, and achieve lasting impact for Prime Day and beyond.

Graham Field, chief revenue officer at Outra:

Prime Day is a powerful reminder of the importance of timing in marketing. But the most forward-thinking brands know success isn’t just about hitting the right date, it’s about connecting at the right moment in someone’s life.

Moving house is one of the most significant life events consumers experience, sparking a surge in home-related purchases.

In fact, movers are 60% more likely to purchase new furniture than the average consumer, making them a high-value audience for home goods brands looking to cut through the noise during peak retail periods.

By harnessing predictive signals to identify likely movers before they start actively searching, marketers can position their brand right at the moment shoppers are ready to invest in their new space.

Combine that with high-traffic retail events like Prime Day, and you’re not just reaching more people – you’re reaching the right people at exactly the right time.

That’s the difference between reacting to demand and getting ahead of it, and it’s how brands can turn Prime Day from a short-term spike into a catalyst for long-term customer growth.

Maor Sadra, CEO & co-founder, INCRMNTAL:

Prime Day is a sales frenzy, but it’s also a trap for lazy measurement. Just because revenue spikes doesn’t mean your ads deserve the credit.

At INCRMNTAL, we’ve analysed more than $2b (£1.47b) in ad spend, including Prime Day campaigns across industries like gaming, retail, and finance. What we consistently find is this: Prime Day generates huge sales spikes, but much of that revenue isn’t truly incremental.

In many cases, brands see a lower return on ad spend during Prime Day than they do during regular seasonal activity. Why? Because consumers are already primed to purchase, whether or not your campaigns run.

This year, brands are investing across a myriad of channels and platforms including CTV, linear TV, DOOH, retail media, and social, but as spend spreads, so does the risk of misattribution. Without always-on incrementality measurement, many marketers are unknowingly over-crediting platforms that simply benefit from timing.

Advertising on Prime Day is expensive.

Amazon, in particular, sees a significant portion of merchant sales flow straight back into its own pockets through ad spend. If marketers don’t understand what’s truly driving conversions, they risk mistaking correlation for causation, and consequently wasting serious budget.

Now more than ever, accurate, privacy-safe measurement is essential to cutting through the noise and making every dollar count.

Julie Selman, SVP & head of EMEA at Magnite:

Commerce media is rapidly becoming a foundational pillar of modern marketing, and Prime Day is one of the most powerful moments to activate its full potential. With retail media spend in the UK rising by 17.7% each year, the next frontier isn’t just about media, it’s about data.

What sets retail data apart is its ability to drive performance and precision in off-site advertising.

For retailers, it represents a major monetisation opportunity. But unlocking that potential at scale means having the right technology partner – one that simplifies activation and ensures smooth, effective execution.

Prime Day brings together high consumer intent, elevated advertiser demand, and impressive audience attention.

For advertisers, it creates a powerful moment to deliver real value to brand partners through curated, contextually rich experiences, whether on CTV, display, or programmatic channels.

By aligning with retail media networks and embracing commerce-driven formats, advertisers can not only drive tangible outcomes for brands, but also tap into new and meaningful revenue streams.

Philip Acton, Country Manager, UK, Adform:

With inflation on non-perishable goods easing and household confidence proving resilient, consumers are approaching shopping occasions like Prime Day with a savvier, more value-driven mindset.

As Barclays points out, shoppers are becoming adept at making the most of discount-led moments, creating a clear opportunity for brands to meet this demand and deliver value where it matters most.

Prime Day represents a unique moment for brands to capture attention and drive results at scale. In an environment where consumer journeys span more touchpoints than ever, from CTV and retail media to DOOH, mobile, and beyond, brands that embrace this complexity as an opportunity rather than a challenge will emerge ahead.

The key lies in relevance and consistency. Brands that deliver high-quality omnichannel experiences tailored to where audiences are and how they behave can break through the noise and build lasting impact. Identity-driven solutions make this possible, enabling brands to optimise campaigns across channels and create meaningful connections at scale.

This Prime Day, the brands that succeed will be those that invest in smart omnichannel strategies and put identity at the heart of their approach. Do that and the results won’t just be felt today, they’ll set the foundation for long-term growth.