Retail Data Shows Foot Traffic Decline During Amazon Prime Day

Some of the largest physical retailers experienced year-over-year foot traffic losses during this year's Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Prime Day sales event that took place on Oct. 13 and 14, according to the latest report from location data analytics company Placer.ai.

Foot Traffic Declines: Big box retailers hoped to capitalize on the Prime Day buzz and excitement, but many companies saw "significant" year-over-year declines in traffic, according to Placer.ai.

Amazon's grocery store arm Whole Foods saw its traffic fall 32.1%, while Walmart Inc WMT traffic was down 19.1% and Target Corporation TGT traffic was lower by 15.1%.

Electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc BBY fared better, with an 11.6% decline.

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The Retail Performance Expectations: The year-over-year drop in traffic was "widely expected," as major retailers had limited time to prepare for an offline sales event, according to Placer.ai. 

In contrast, 2019 was a "uniquely successful" sales event for brands like Walmart and Target, as they benefited from the usually higher traffic summer period.

Near-Term Lift: All four brands experienced a jump in traffic during Prime Day compared to the prior six week average.

Whole Foods' traffic improved from negative 24.4% to negative 19.7% on Prime Day.

Target traffic improved from up 2.5% to up 7% on Prime Day.

Walmart traffic improved from down 11.1% to down 8.6% on Prime Day.

Best Buy traffic improved from down 12.1% to up 21.7% on Prime Day.

Amazon Remains King: Amazon remains the "king of Prime Day" and was well-prepared for the event this year, according to Placer.ai.

Foot traffic at Amazon warehouses showed "huge growth" compared to 2019 as the company was focused on maximizing the surge in interest.

Nevertheless, offline retailers demonstrated that they remain relevant, and there is still a big role for physical retail to satisfy, the data firm said. 

"Ahead of a critical holiday season, this is a huge testament to the ongoing power of offline retail as a critical component of the overall retail picture," according to Placer.ai.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.