Amazon reported third-quarter net sales of $201.9 billion on 29 October, up 12% from a year earlier. Its comparison comes with an important calendar qualification: Prime Day took place in the second quarter in most large countries this year, versus entirely in the third quarter in 2025.

Amazon estimates that year-on-year sales growth would have been about four percentage points higher without that timing shift. That is the company’s adjustment, rather than a separately reported sales result. The figures cover Amazon’s global business, including AWS; they do not measure European online retail demand or independent sellers’ turnover.

For merchants comparing promotional periods, the useful lesson is the choice of comparison window. A weaker quarter can partly reflect when an event happened, rather than customers buying less across the year.

Our take: put major campaign dates next to your sales chart before changing a budget. Compare the event’s full trading window with last year’s equivalent, then examine the surrounding weeks for sales brought forward. Keep that comparison separate from your normal calendar-month report.