Retailers are adapting to the mid-year deals surge. Ace Hardware uses its own Rewards Days to drive sign-ups, boost retail media, and capture market share. The strategy leverages shopper behavior shaped by Amazon’s Prime Day.
Retailers seeking to grow loyalty and revenue during the mid-year deals rush are rethinking their approach to Prime Day. Ace Hardware has chosen not to compete directly with Amazon, instead launching its own Ace Rewards Days event to capitalize on the surge in consumer shopping activity.
Molly Hjelm, general manager of Ace’s retail media network, said the company’s four-day Ace Rewards Days in late June produced some of the highest traffic and conversion rates of the year. She explained that Prime Day has fundamentally changed shopper expectations, creating a new retail moment outside traditional holidays. This shift gives all retailers a window to engage consumers who are actively searching, comparing, and ready to buy.
Ace Rewards Days is built around the company’s 60 million-member loyalty program, which Hjelm described as central to Ace’s commercial strategy. The event is the top driver of new sign-ups annually, expanding the reach of Ace’s retail media network. This network, launched last year, connects brands and vendors to Ace’s audience across digital and in-store channels.
For marketers, Hjelm noted that the traditional purchase funnel collapses during peak deal periods. Shoppers move rapidly from awareness to conversion, often revisiting products multiple times in a short span. She said vendors must run full-funnel campaigns and adjust parameters to match the elevated traffic during Rewards Days. Ace begins promoting deals to loyalty members up to a month in advance, with messaging intensifying as the event nears. Some offers are released early to encourage purchases ahead of the main window.
Hjelm acknowledged concerns that such events may train shoppers to delay purchases until peak moments, but said retailers who ignore these periods risk losing market share. Ace’s cooperative structure, with over 5,200 independently owned stores, adds complexity to rolling out partnerships, but the company has expanded last-mile delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart. This enables customers to move from discovery to doorstep delivery in as little as 15 minutes.
On the technology front, Ace is investing in product findability within large language models, aiming to be included in AI-driven recommendations. Hjelm said that while traditional on-site ad formats may lose value if AI agents drive more purchases, being present in these new channels is increasingly important.
She also pointed out that even the most loyal customers still spend a significant portion of their budget elsewhere. Ace Rewards Days is designed to reward existing members and attract new ones, while the retail media network serves as a tool for merchants and vendors to drive sales during key periods.
Retailers are not alone in adapting to new digital realities. As regulatory and technological shifts reshape the industry, publishers and platforms are also responding to changes in audience behavior and data practices. For example, a recent UK bill aims to increase transparency around AI bots scraping content, a move supported by publishers concerned about revenue and trust. More details on this development can be found in this report on UK efforts to regulate AI web scraping.
Ace Hardware, founded in 1924, operates as a cooperative of independently owned stores. As of 2026, the company has more than 5,200 locations and a loyalty program with 60 million members. Its retail media network, launched in 2025, connects brands to customers across digital and physical channels, supporting both vendor campaigns and in-store promotions.
