From surging Amazon Prime Day spending, to Tesco launching Clubcard for teens and social media driving 1.7 billion High Street visits, what’s been making waves in retail this week?

Amazon Prime Day sees +5.3% spending surge

Price conscious shoppers spent +5.3% more during the first 24-hours of Amazon’s Prime Day sale, figures from Adobe Analytics suggest.

Its data showed that U.S. online spending alone reached $8.3 billion on Tue 23 Jun 2026, making it “one of the biggest” ecommerce trading days ​of the year so far. “The incomparable value of Prime keeps growing, and this year is no exception,” said Jamil Ghani, VP of Amazon Prime.

However, several studies released this week warn of the flip side of major discounting events on operations and profitability.

Data from Manhattan suggests 61 million items will be sent back post-Prime Day, adding operational complexity for retailers offering competing promotions during the period.

Meanwhile, while invent.ai’s poll of 1,000 shoppers showed 58% believe events like Prime Day create a race to the bottom, as retailers fuel a cycle of “unbreakable” discounting and eroded margins.

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Tesco targets younger shoppers with Clubcard for teens

Tesco has launched a new version of its Clubcard for 16 and 17 year-olds in a loyalty push aimed at teenagers, allowing younger shoppers access to members’ pricing for the first time.

The new digital ‘Clubcard for 16-17s’, which will be available via the supermarket’s app or on its website, will allow teenagers who have been invited by a parent or guardian to join the loyalty programme.

They will then be able to collect points that can be converted into vouchers for money off at the checkout, as well as accessing Clubcard Pricing in-store.

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Asda advances retail media offering with Amazon Ads

Asda will become the first retailer outside of the U.S. to launch Amazon Ads across its online stores.

The move comes as the supermarket looks to accelerate its retail media offering, connecting brands with customers across its digital platforms, including online grocery and George.

“This partnership is about using technology to improve the online shopping experience,” said Rachel Eyre, Chief Customer & Digital Officer at Asda.

“At the same time, it creates a stronger retail media proposition, giving brand partners a more effective way to reach customers, using deeper insight to deliver impactful campaigns,” she added.

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Opinion | How retailers are tackling physical retail’s digital black hole

Despite retailers’ heavy investment in online, the store remains surprisingly disconnected, even as bricks-and-mortar experiences a revival led by Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Speaking at 4POS’ Retail Outlook event, Retail Technology Magazine publisher, analyst and author, Miya Knights, discussed how retailers are tackling physical retail’s digital blackhole.

Joined by retail tech leaders, including Datos Insights’ Alan Burt, Vista’s David Beer and Datalogic’s Paul Hewitt, they explored:

🦖 How ‘apex predator’ Amazon has rewritten the playbook for data-led retail
🔎 Why recognition is bricks-and-mortar retail’s next advantage
💰 Investment priorities for digital stores & how modular systems can boost ROI
🕸️ The operational reality of the connected store
🗺️ A blueprint for bringing stores squarely into focus through innovation

Read the full event write up 👉 Bringing the store into focus: How retailers are tackling physical retail’s digital black hole.

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Social media drives 1.7bn annual store & hospitality visits

Far from keeping customers on their screens and away from stores, social media is driving an estimated 1.7 billion annual visits to High Streets, says new research from American Express and Retail Economics.

Original research of over 2,000 UK shoppers showed that 63% have visited a shop or hospitality venue in the last 12months after being influenced on social, rising to 88% of Gen Z.

“Social media has become the new shop window for High Streets. What starts as a scroll on social is increasingly translating into real-world visits,” American Express’ Dan Edelman commented.

Equating to an average of over 30 million visits a week, social media has become a powerful driver of footfall and loyalty, according to the report.

“Social media is not just driving online sales, it is now also influencing in-person spend on the UK High Street,” said Richard Lim, CEO at Retail Economics.

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Device overload among top tech frustrations for store staff

Despite investment in bricks-and-mortar innovation, retail staff are experiencing rising levels of tech friction, new data from x-hoppers reveals.

A lack of real-time visibility (47%) topped colleagues’ frustrations when using current in-store innovations, followed by poor user experience (UX) and disconnected systems (both 46%).

Tech overload was also a key friction point, with staff reporting feeling overwhelmed by having to juggle too many devices (41%), monitor and manage too many screens (39%) and being bombarded by alerts and triggers from in-store systems (29%).

“When colleagues are forced to switch between multiple devices, applications and disconnected systems, tech becomes a source of friction rather than an enabler,” said Graham Dixon, CTO at x-hoppers.

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MoEngage acquires Aampe to enhance AI engagement

MoEngage has announce the acquisition of agentic AI solution, Aampe, to “complete its vision” of a scaleable and unified Agentic Customer Engagement Platform.

Marking MoEngage’s first acquisition, the move will help marketers, ecommerce and growth teams leverage autonomous agents to drive true 1-2-1 personalisation and engagement at individual customer-level.

Aampe’s capabilities will integrate with MoEngage’s Merlin AI agents, which are already being used by brands including Loblaws and Soundcloud, and help digital teams build content, launch campaigns, design customer journeys and surface insights with greater efficiency.

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