According to Drive Research, 71% of all Black Friday shopping this year will take place online. In recognition of the biggest retail day of the year, we’re revisiting this story, originally published in July, which highlights how radio continues to drive e-commerce success for both local and national retailers, helping them reach more customers at the most effective price point. – EIC Cameron Coats
Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day event set a new record with US shoppers spending an estimated $23.8 billion over the four-day mega-sale, according to Adobe Analytics. One of the core drivers of that monumental haul? Over-the-air radio ads and audiences.
According to new findings from a national study by Quantilope, ad-supported audio listeners led all other media consumers in Amazon Prime Day 2025 purchases, with 53% of AM/FM radio listeners making a purchase during the four-day event, outpacing ad-supported music streamers (47%), podcast listeners (44%), and significantly outperforming online video users, social media users, and linear TV viewers.
This adds onto Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group analysis, as it has tracked the relationship between AM/FM and Amazon Prime Day since the sales event’s inception in 2015.
In that first year, an IPSOS study found that 52% of listeners exposed to radio ads made a purchase, compared to 39% for TV and 48% for online ads. In 2018, another IPSOS survey found that heavy AM/FM users made up half of all Prime Day buyers. A December 2023 MARU/Matchbox study showed heavy AM/FM and podcast listeners were significantly more likely to shop Amazon’s October Big Deal Days event, with higher intent to participate in future Amazon shopping campaigns.
According to this year’s data, heavy ad-supported audio users are 15% to 17% more likely to be Amazon Prime members than the national average, while heavy linear TV viewers are 14% less likely. That gap translated into greater participation in Prime Day and more dollars spent.
Quantilope also found ad-supported audio listeners had the highest overall awareness of Prime Day 2025, with the greatest number reporting they were “very” or “extremely” familiar with the promotion. When played a radio ad from Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day campaign, 46% of respondents recalled hearing the ad, and 70% said they would visit Amazon or search for deals.
Ultimately, Amazon’s returns on audio investment spotlights AM/FM radio’s sustained dominance as a driver of retail awareness and conversion.
A 2024 analysis of Amazon’s network TV buy revealed a reach of 41% among US adults. Reallocating 20% of that budget to AM/FM radio increased campaign reach by 51%, from 41% to 63%. Among 18–24-year-olds, reach jumped by 126%. Other gains included 130% for ages 25–34, 86% for ages 35–44, and 53% for ages 45–54.
The shift also produced major lift among light and medium TV viewers, demographics notoriously difficult to reach via television. Light TV viewers saw a 131% reach increase when radio was added to the mix.
For commerce brands large and small, AM/FM continues to deliver where it counts: driving awareness, motivating action, and delivering measurable ROI. As Prime Day 2025 proved, when retailers need mass reach, engaged consumers, and scalable results, audio doesn’t just complement the plan; it completes it.
