DISCUSSION
Amazon’s Prime Day is coming earlier and possibly twice
Written by Tom Ryan
Amazon.com is planning to hold Prime Day in June, a month early for the traditional July event, multiple sources told Recode. Amazon management is also reportedly considering holding a second Prime Day in the fall.
Last year, Amazon pushed Prime Day, which offers exclusive deals for Prime members, back to October due to challenges the company faced filling orders due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Recode report indicates 2021’s Prime Day will likely take place in mid-to-late June. One source suspected Amazon is making the change because a June Prime Day event would boost second-quarter results that face grueling comparisons against the pandemic’s initial surge. An Amazon spokesperson said sales plans are made without regard for Wall Street or quarterly reports, but declined to confirm or deny the June shift.
A CNET report speculates that Amazon may be moving the event earlier in anticipation of record post-pandemic travel this summer and a desire to “catch customers before they leave.”
Meanwhile, sources also told Recode a second Prime Day had been explored for the fall, although the report added, “It’s unclear if such an additional event is still under consideration.”
Last year was the first time the event wasn’t held in mid-July and the shift to mid-October was believed to be among the major factors driving early holiday spending.
Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 to celebrate the anniversary of the company's July 1995 debut. The event has morphed from a single-day celebration to a two-day shopping extravaganza. Amazon uses Prime Day in part to recruit Prime members and also to highlight Amazon merchandise, including Echo, Fire, Kindle and its broad apparel range. Competitors including Best Buy, Walmart and Target match prices and launch their own deals aligned to the event.
Sales on Prime Day in recent years have surpassed the combined sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Amazon did not disclose its total haul from the October 2021 event, but analysis by Digital Commerce 360 showed Prime Day 2020 brought in $10.4 billion globally, up 44 percent from the $7.2 billion from Prime Day in July 2019.
Labor activists have used Prime Day to drive protests and boycott threats.
- It looks like Amazon is changing the dates for Prime Day again – Recode
- Prime Day 2021: Dates, deals and a new rumor for the big Amazon event – CNET
- When Is Amazon Prime Day 2021? – The New York Times
- Amazon’s Prime Day sales cross $10 billion – Digital Commerce 360
- Amazon Prime Day 2020 Marked the Two Biggest Days Ever for Small & Medium Businesses in Amazon’s Stores Worldwide – Amazon.com
- Will the late Prime Day sabotage or catapult holiday spending? – RetailWire
- Who wins/loses if Amazon pushes Prime Day to September? – RetailWire
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