Despite a slow start to the Prime Day summer sales event, U.S. online sales reached $24.1 billion with retailers offering deeper discounts than last year.

Prime Day shopping events to entice cautious consumers and play defense against stiffer competition from the likes of Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and TikTok, who have launched their own discount days in response.

Analysts expected a week of online sales events to bring in record revenue as consumers chase deals amid economic uncertainty.