Amazon Prime Day is July 12-13 this year, returning to its traditional July schedule after two years of maneuvering around the pandemic. The online behemoth’s big sale was held in October 2020 and in June last year.
Expect other retailers to ride on the coattails of Amazon’s 48-hour event with their own specials. Retailers have swelling inventories of excess apparel and home goods, including furniture, that were delayed by COVID 19-related supply chain issues.
The annual sale started in 2015 and has helped Amazon gain subscribers who pay $139 a year, up from $119, for free shipping and other perks. Amazon says it has more than 200 million members around the world and says Prime Day is for them, but really anyone can participate. Amazon offers free trials for Prime membership related to the event and is doing that again this year.
Prime members can subscribe to alert notifications for items they’ve recently viewed or ask personal assistant Alexa to remind them. This year Alexa will even place orders for products already in a member’s cart or add them to save-for-later and wish lists.
Early deals start June 21 for Amazon devices such as Echo Show, Kindle Paperwhite and Fire tablets.
Amazon stock is also “on sale” after hitting a recent peak earlier this month right before a 20-for-1 stock split. Shares are trading just above $100 as uncertainties related to inflation and how consumers will continue to spend are hitting retail stocks.
TV discounting is back in a big way and some of the pre-Prime Day deals include $89.99 for an Insignia 24-inch, $699.99 for a Toshiba 75-inch Smart Fire TV and $284.99 for an Amazon Fire 55-inch smart TV.
Celebrities and games have been added to bring in shoppers. Customers who shop with small businesses in Amazon’s marketplace can earn chances to win prizes such as a pregame experience and tickets to the Super Bowl or tickets to a New York screening of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series that includes meeting the cast.
The 48-hour sales start at 2 a.m. on July 12.
In terms of revenue, Prime Day has grown to equal the big selling days around the holiday shopping season in November and December.
