CollinsAmazon Prime Day, the company’s annual shopping holiday, will be held on Monday, June 21st and Tuesday, June 22nd, the company announced today.
The upcoming summer dates are a return to form for the retail giant, which has traditionally held its shopping extravaganza in mid-July but had to postpone it last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon previously confirmed this year’s Prime Day would take place in Q2 in its most recent earnings report.
As in previous years, true wireless earbuds, 4K TVs of all sizes and panel types, video games, and other items will be discounted. Aside from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Prime Day has become one of the best days to get deals, whether for gifts or for yourself.
According to Amazon, this year’s Prime Day will include “millions of deals from top brands and over a million deals from small and medium businesses.”
The company says it will invest more than $100 million to assist small businesses during Prime Day, and Prime members will receive a $10 credit to use during Prime Day if they spend $10 at “selected small businesses” on Amazon between June 7th and June 20th.
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Throughout the event, the company will also highlight deals on Amazon Live, a streaming platform where brands and creators showcase various Amazon products.
Traditionally, the marquee event — which features exclusive discounts on Amazon devices, clothing, electronics, and a variety of other consumer goods — has been a huge revenue boost for Amazon, which managed to bring in $108.5 billion in net sales in Q1 despite the ongoing pandemic.
Third-party sellers alone earned more than $3.5 billion during last year’s two-day event, but the e-commerce giant has not disclosed total sales figures.
Since its inception in 2015, Amazon has used the global shopping event to retain Amazon Prime subscribers, which now number more than 200 million, and to boost sales during what is often regarded as a slow period for retailers.
Last year’s Prime Day effectively kicked off the holiday shopping season early, but Amazon is likely to avoid competing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two busiest shopping days of the year.
This year’s Prime Day also falls during a period of significant change at Amazon. Andy Jassy, the current CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), will take over as CEO of Amazon on July 5th, and the company recently announced its plan to buy MGM for $8.45 billion, an acquisition that will strengthen the company’s entertainment properties and likely help grow its Amazon Prime Video library.
However, as Amazon expands, so do the labour disputes. Following a historic defeat in Bessemer, Alabama, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has filed an appeal challenging the results of its recent union drive. Employees continue to put pressure on Jassy and current CEO Jeff Bezos on a variety of issues, ranging from pollution to Palestine.
Last year, Amazon employees in Germany went so far as to stage a Prime Day strike in order to protest for better working conditions and higher wages, a tactic that was replicated in Minnesota in 2019.
Collins