US online sales hit $7.2 billion on first day of Amazon Prime Day event, Adobe says

(Reuters) – Shoppers spent about $7.2 billion online across retailers during the first day of Amazon’s Prime Day in the United States, according to a report from Adobe Analytics on Wednesday.

Major retailers including Walmart and Target have launched deals and shopping events through July to attract customers by offering deep discounts to compete with the Amazon sales event.

Adobe Analytics, which studies e-commerce transaction data, had forecast that consumers could spend $7.1 billion online across retailers on Tuesday, up 11.3% from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)