What Prime Big Deal Days 2026 Told Retailers and Brands: Category Reads

Prime Big Deal Days ran October 6-7, and the durables picture looked different from June’s Prime Day: fewer PC deals, higher net prices, and more competition from Walmart, Best Buy, and Target the same week.

According to Adobe, total US online spend across all retailers reached $9.86 billion during the 2026 event, up 8.5% from $9.09 billion in 2025. Most of that growth came from everyday items rather than big-ticket purchases, driving the value of a durables-specific read.

OpenBrand’s category analysts tracked Prime Big Deal Days 2026 across durables product lines. This wrap-up pulls together insights across various key categories (from consumer electronics to small appliances, outdoor power equipment, power tools, and more) into one place so you can see where discounting deepened, where brands sat out, and what each category signals heading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

OpenBrand Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin covers the macro view of the event, including why bigger discounts didn’t mean lower prices in a year of rising durables costs, in his companion read, Prime Big Deal Days: Bigger Discounts, Not Lower Prices.

In This Wrap-Up

• Prime Big Deal Days 2026: Key Takeaways
• Category Reads: What the Analysts Saw
  • Desktops
  • Floor Care 
  • Headphones
  • Notebooks
  • Printers
  • Smartphones
  • Tablets & Detachables
  • Televisions
• How Shoppers Approached Prime Big Deal Days 2026
• What Prime Big Deal Days 2026 Means Moving Forward
• What to Watch Heading into Black Friday
• How OpenBrand Helps Track Real-Time Movement During Promotional Windows

Prime Big Deal Days 2026: Key Takeaways

Across categories, the October event looked very different from June. Shoppers arrived with a plan and a modest budget, several categories shed both deals and depth, price floors moved up, and a handful of brands – led by Hisense, HP, and JLab Audio – discounted far deeper than their categories. 

• Shoppers bought with a purpose. According to OpenBrand’s shopper survey, 56% of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers spent under $150 on Amazon, and more than half came with a planned purchase in mind. Discounts mostly turned planned purchases into sales rather than growing basket sizes.
• PCs and phones pulled back, and price floors rose. The average smartphone discount on Amazon was 21%, a Prime event low since 2016. Notebook discounts fell almost 4 points to 19% while the average net price rose to $1,139 from $846, and desktop deals were cut by more than half, to 22 from 46 last October. According to OpenBrand, fewer deals at higher net prices was the dominant PC story.
• Where brands leaned in, they leaned in hard. Hisense led TVs at 41% off, a 10-point jump. Amazon headphone deals nearly doubled to 219, at a deeper 39% average. Printer savings averaged 32% off, up from 29% in June, and HP ran the deepest notebook discounts at 31%. According to OpenBrand, aggression was concentrated in specific brands rather than spread across categories.
• Best Buy set the value ceiling off Amazon. Best Buy had the biggest TV savings at $752 (28% off) and promoted 86% of its current TVs, and it was the only merchant to grow tablet promotion values, up 11% to $128 excluding Apple. Walmart pulled back on TVs, dropping from 24% to 21% off.
• Apple showed up, but on its own terms. Apple made a rare Prime notebook appearance with $200 off every M5 MacBook Air configuration, cleared iPad mini inventory with $100 Limited Time and Lightning Deals, and featured a single AirPods Pro 3 deal. It did not appear among captured smartphone deals.

OpenBrand’s Takeaway: Read Prime Big Deal Days 2026 as a preview of holiday pricing. Deal counts and depth told different stories by category, but post-discount prices climbed in PCs, phones, and TVs alike, and that higher floor is what category managers should plan against for Black Friday.

Category Reads: What the Analysts Saw

OpenBrand covered Prime Big Deal Days 2026 across various durables product lines. Below is a short excerpt from our analysts’ full reports. For the full read on what our analysts saw during Prime Big Deal Days 2026, contact us today.

Desktops

The Smallest Desktop Prime Event Since July 2024

Analysis by Avery Bissett, Desktops Analyst, OpenBrand

October Prime Day 2026 was the smallest desktop event of the six Prime events tracked since July 2024, with many brands sitting out entirely. Unique desktop deals were cut by more than half, falling to 22 from 46 last October and 39 in June. Alienware, Corsair, Lenovo, Thermaltake, and iBUYPOWER, which together had 17 deals last October, weren’t featured. The average discount rose 3ppt YoY to 19%, with the average discount value up to $302 from $279.

Those that did participate discounted more aggressively, particularly HP in consumer and Stormcraft in gaming. All four of HP’s deals were consumer desktops at 24%-29% off, up 11ppt from its 17% average last October, and newcomer Stormcraft tied HP for the deepest average discount at 28%, highlighted by $770 (36%) off its Falcon gaming PC with RTX 5060 Ti. Gaming made up 15 of 22 deals (68%), but higher floors at RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 show component costs pushing post-discount prices up even where discounts held. The lowest RTX 5060 offer was $1,075, versus $839, and the lowest RTX 5070 offer jumped to $1,947 from $1,440.

Floor Care

Target Leads Floor Care Discounts During Full Prime Big Deal Days Week

Analysis by Jordan Carter, Vacuums Analyst, OpenBrand

Target showed the most aggressive floor care discount for the full Prime Big Deal Days week at 32% off, led by stick vacuums at 38%, while Amazon averaged 27% across the week and 31% during the two-day event. Best Buy continued to offer the deepest savings value YoY despite a 20% decline, from $205 off to $163 off.

On Amazon, the 31% average was down 2ppt YoY and the lowest of the past four Prime events. The pullback was concentrated in robotics, where discounts eased from 38% to 34% off and average savings fell $68, as robotic products are often positioned as secondary devices in the home rather than essentials. Non-steam wet/dry floor washers led all product types at 35% off for the second straight Prime event. iRobot led key brands at 53% off (+8ppt YoY), and Shark offered the deepest single deal at 58% off its $599 AI Ultra.

Hear more about Prime Big Deal Days promotions across floor care product types in Jordan’s Analyst Spotlight Video.

Headphones

Headphone Deals Nearly Double on Amazon as Promotions Get More Aggressive

Analysis by Nick Harpster, Headphones Analyst, OpenBrand

Across Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, the average promotion value offered during the week of Amazon Prime Big Deals Day and competing October promotion events saw a 12% YoY decrease to $50, and the average discount decreased 2ppt to 29%. Apple, Beats, Sony, JBL, and JLab Audio all remained stable YoY for their average promotion values across merchants. Some of the largest shifts were seen by Bose, which decreased its average promotion value YoY to $67, due to fewer large promotions like last year’s $160 off on the QC Headphones.

On Amazon itself, the total number of deals featured nearly doubled from 2025’s 111 to now 219, driven by nearly every major brand increasing the number of audio offerings and color variants. JLab Audio and JBL were the most notable shifts this year, both brands nearly tripling their number of featured deals. Headphone promotions were also larger and more aggressive, with the average promotion value for flared deals up 18% YoY to $60 and average depth up 5ppt YoY to 39% off. True Wireless regained its growth with 53% of deals, up 10ppt YoY, and the premium $200 & Above and $50-$99 price bands combined accounted for 55% of flared deals. The deepest discount was 62% off the JBL Tune Flex and JBL Live 620NC, and the largest savings was $200 off (57%) the Sennheiser RS 175. Apple only featured one deal this year, on the AirPods Pro 3, with a Limited Time Deal flair rather than a Prime Big Deal flair.v

Notebooks

A Rare Apple Appearance and a Broad Retreat from Windows Discounting

Analysis by Avery Bissett, Notebooks Analyst, OpenBrand

October Prime Day 2026 was shaped by a rare Prime appearance from Apple and a broad retreat from discounting by Windows brands. Unique deals rose to 87 from 75 last October, driven by Apple (20 deals, partly due to color options); excluding Apple, volume fell by 8. The average discount fell almost 4 ppt YoY to 19%, while the average discount value held flat at $243 as shelf prices climbed. Apple’s flat $200 discounts across 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs worked out to 10%-15%, the shallowest in the event.

HP had the deepest discounts among major brands, averaging 31% (up 6ppt YoY), driven by budget OmniBook 3 offers as deep as 59%. Lenovo averaged 24% (up 4ppt) and nearly tripled its presence from last October. Last October’s discount leaders scaled back sharply: Microsoft fell 9ppt to 22% and Samsung fell 13ppt to 18%. Pricing shifted upward across the board, with the average net price rising to $1,139 from $846. Entry-level gaming effectively disappeared, with no gaming notebook under $1,000, and only one Chromebook came in under $240. This event reinforced the higher floor on post-discount pricing going into the holidays, with an additional wave of price increases expected around Q4.

Printers

Prime Big Deal Days Drew Broader Printer Participation Than Prime Day

Analysis by Valerie Alde-Hayman, Printers Analyst, OpenBrand

OpenBrand captured 38 printer deals during Amazon’s two-day Prime Big Deal Days event, up from 30 during Prime Day 2026, with savings averaging 32% off list price compared to 29% in June. Amazon’s printer promotions centered on cartridge-based inkjet devices: of the 38 deals, 15 targeted cartridge-based inkjet devices, nine targeted laser devices, eight targeted ink tank devices, and six targeted portable photo printers. Canon led promotional activity with 20 offers, up from 14 during Prime Day 2026, and HP followed with 11.

By brand, Canon offered the most aggressive discounts at an average of 36% off list price, followed by Epson (34%), HP (29%), Brother (23%), and Kodak (15%). Canon’s PIXMA TR7120 carried the deepest single discount at 52% off, while Canon’s Color imageCLASS LBP674Cdw II offered the largest dollar savings at $292.88. By technology, cartridge-based inkjet devices carried the deepest discounts at an average of 40% off, while ink tank devices averaged a more moderate 26%. These trends suggest OEMs relied on deep cuts to cartridge-based hardware to drive volume, while protecting pricing on ink tank models that generate less ongoing supplies revenue per device.

Smartphones

Prime Big Deal Days 2026 Brought Smaller Smartphone Deals, Steady Savings

Analysis by Scott Peterson, Smartphones Analyst, OpenBrand

Smartphone discounts got shallower for Prime Big Deal Days 2026; the average across major online merchants fell from 24% last year to 18%, while dollar savings held near $170-$180. Amazon had the biggest average savings ($179, 18% off) and beat Best Buy on flagships, such as $390 off the Galaxy S26 Ultra (vs. $289). Best Buy discounted the most phones but gave shoppers less per phone, at $177 and 16% off, from $206 and 24%. Walmart had the deepest average discount (26%) but the smallest dollar savings ($143), mostly from older and budget phones. Across merchants, Google was the most promoted brand and Apple barely took part: 63% of Pixel listings had a discount, versus 45% for Samsung and 6% for Apple.

On Amazon, OpenBrand captured 78 smartphone deals, up 11% from last October but down 26% from July’s Prime Day, with unlocked deals from just four brands. Google accounted for 76% of captured deals, and the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL models alone made up 33 deals, pushing 58% of all deals into the $800 & up price band. The overall average discount across brands was 21%, seven points lower than last October and a Prime event low since 2016. Samsung was the top discounter at 26%, while Motorola, last year’s discount leader, fell 13 points to 24% and Google dropped six points to 20%. With Google making up most of the deal mix, its moderate discounts on the new Pixel 11 series pulled the overall average lower. As with prior years, Apple did not appear among captured deals.

Tablets & Detachables

More Tablet Deals, Less Promotional Punch

Analysis by Nick Harpster, Tablets & Detachables Analyst, OpenBrand

Merchants saw a YoY decrease in the average promotion value offered across all the October sales events, including Amazon’s October 6–7 Prime Big Deal Days event, with all promotions down 16% YoY to $107 and the average discount down 5ppt to 17%. These decreases were all driven by Apple: last year Apple led with larger $250 promotions on the iPad Pro 7, compared to $200 this year. Excluding Apple, average promotion values increased 7% YoY to $122. Amazon remained flat YoY at $126, Best Buy saw an increase of 11% YoY to $128, and Target and Walmart both saw decreases of 19% and 8%, respectively.

On Amazon, this was the highest number of tablet deals highlighted during the event in the past four years, with a near-even amount of deals from Amazon (37), Samsung (36), and Apple (35). The average promotion value dipped 18% YoY to $113, and the average discount dipped 4ppt to 27%. Apple notably did not feature any non-refurbished models with a Prime Big Deal flair, instead promoting its iPad mini across all of its configurations with a $100 (10%-17%) Limited Time or Lightning Deal in an attempt to clear inventory ahead of its overdue mini refresh. Google was absent, while TCL limited its promotions to Lightning Deals on its NXTPAPER lineup. Overall consumers could find solid deals on tablets this October Prime Day, but the event lacked some promotional punch, especially with some consumers feeling spending constraints.

Televisions

Best Buy Leads TV Discounts as Rivals Hold Back for Prime Big Deal Days 2026

Analysis by Scott Peterson, TVs Analyst, OpenBrand

Average TV discounts across major online merchants held at ~25%, roughly flat to last year (24%), and dollar savings fell everywhere except Best Buy. Best Buy again had the biggest savings ($752, 28% off), up from $736 and 27% last year, and it promoted 86% of its current TVs for its Techtober event. Best Buy’s bigger discounts come partly from higher list prices; its pre-discount price was higher on 73% of the TVs that Amazon also sold, but net prices after discounts ended up almost identical. Walmart pulled back for the sale week, with its average discount dropping from 24% to 21%, now tied with Amazon, and its average savings falling from $501 to $300. Store brands were key to discounting: Insignia averaged 38% off at Best Buy and Amazon-brand TVs 32% at Amazon, but Walmart’s Onn averaged just 13% off.

On Amazon, OpenBrand captured 95 TV deals, up 30% from last October’s 73, and Sony, Hisense, TCL, and Amazon together accounted for 72% of them. The overall average discount across brands was 26%, up two points YoY. Hisense was the event’s clear discount leader at 41%, a 10-point jump YoY, including 55% off the 85″ S7 series ($1,797). Samsung (21%) and TCL (20%) pulled back sharply, down nine and 12 points YoY. Larger screens were nearly as visible as the mainstream: 30% of deals were 75″ or larger, and those deals averaged a slightly deeper 27% off. Prime Big Deal Days 2026 rewarded TV brands that were in front of planned buyers with the right big-screen and premium models, at a price that justified trading up ahead of the holiday season.

How Shoppers Approached Prime Big Deal Days 2026

OpenBrand surveyed shoppers before and during the sale to see how their plans turned into purchases. The results revealed a disciplined shopper who bought with a purpose, spent modestly, and was not fully convinced that Amazon had the lowest prices and best deals.

More than half of shoppers came with a planned purchase in mind. 39% wanted a deal on something already on their list, and 22% planned to stock up on essentials. Nearly as many came to browse discounts or find new products, and more than 1 in 4 did both. Expectations were measured leading into the event, as 54% planned to spend less than $150 on Amazon, and only 9% planned to spend $500 or more. Actual behavior aligned with those plans with 56% spending under $150.

More shopper insights will be available soon, right here on our blog.

What Prime Big Deal Days 2026 Means Moving Forward

All our analysts reports point to Prime Big Deal Days 2026 setting a higher floor for holiday pricing. Shoppers made their decisions before the sale started, brands chose their spots, and post-discount prices rose even where discount percentages held.

Participation is a strategic choice. Desktop deals were cut by more than half as Alienware, Corsair, and Lenovo sat out, Google skipped tablets, and Apple promoted only the products it wanted to clear. Brands that read the event as one discount number will miss who chose not to compete and why. 

As in June’s Prime Day, the value ceiling moved off Amazon in some categories and back onto it in others. Best Buy led TV savings at $752 and was the only merchant to grow tablet promotion values excluding Apple, while Amazon beat Best Buy on flagship phones. Any brand watching a single retailer is watching the wrong ceiling.

Higher price floors matter most heading into the holidays. No gaming notebook under $1,000, a $1,075 floor on RTX 5060 desktops, and 58% of Amazon smartphone deals at $800 and up all point to component costs and premium mixes pushing net prices higher.

OpenBrand’s Insight: The brands that won Prime Big Deal Days 2026 picked their categories, products, and retailers deliberately, and that same discipline, applied against a higher price floor, is the plan to stress-test before Black Friday.

What to Watch Heading into Black Friday

The next major promotion event is the Black Friday and Cyber Monday run, when deeper and more widespread promotions are typically expected. Questions worth tracking:

• Do price floors keep rising, or do discounts finally offset them? Watch whether the higher net prices in notebooks, desktops, and smartphones hold through Black Friday, especially with an additional wave of notebook price increases expected around Q4.
• Do the brands that sat out come back? Desktops will likely hinge on whether absent OEMs and system integrators return with broader participation, and tablets on how Apple clears iPad mini inventory and how Amazon positions its new tablet lineup.
• Does Best Buy keep the value lead? Best Buy promoted 86% of its current TVs and grew tablet promotion values excluding Apple, while Walmart pulled back on TVs. Watch whether that gap widens or closes through Black Friday.

For the pricing read on Prime Big Deal Days 2026, why 66.1% of Amazon products hit their highest discount of the prior 30 days while only 2.0% hit their lowest net price, OpenBrand Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin breaks it down in Prime Big Deal Days: Bigger Discounts, Not Lower Prices.