Prime Day Powers Industry-Wide Boost in Mobile App Downloads for Retailers

Amazon’s mid-July Prime Day powered not only sales at local businesses and direct purchases on Amazon’s rival retailer sites but also spikes in mobile app downloads for those retailers, according to data released today by mobile app marketing company Liftoff.

Comparing Prime Week (starting the Saturday before Prime Day, which took place on Monday and Tuesday July 16–17) to mobile retailer app installs in the five weeks prior to the event, Liftoff found that big retailers such as Macy’s and Target saw an average 156% increase in installs on the Tuesday that marked the end of Prime Day.

A drop-off in mobile app engagement followed, as install rates dipped below the average of the previous five weeks on the Thursday and Friday following Amazon’s event.

Still, Prime Week as a whole saw a 46.76% lift in mobile installs, further attesting to the growing consensus among industry observers: Amazon has forged a new, summertime Black Friday. The e-commerce giant’s influence is so great that its event has become a watershed date for the largely brick-and-mortar rivals it’s been variously credited with and accused of nearly putting out of business.

Joe Zappa is Street Fight’s managing editor. Follow him on Twitter @joe_zappa.