Goals Business
This year, Amazon is helping everyone get a jump start with their holiday shopping. Amazon announced its highly anticipated sales event, Prime Day, will begin at midnight on Tuesday, October 13 and will conclude at midnight on Wednesday, October 14 at 11:59 pm. Taking place weeks before Black Friday, Prime Day will occur in the U.S., U.A.E., U.K., Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, Luxembourg, Mexico, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, China, Austria, Belgium, and Australia as it has in years past. Two new countries, Brazil and Turkey, will also be experiencing the event this year.
What It Means
Prime Day is a special day of sales hosted by Amazon for their Prime loyalty program members. Members regularly receive free shipping on a wide selection of products, special media services that can be streamed, and other perks by paying a monthly or annual service fee. Today, more than 150 million consumers have memberships. During the two-day event, non-members can participate by signing up for a free trial.
Prime’s pricing is $12.99/month or $119/year, however, discounts are available for those living on government assistance, students, and more. Businesses can also sign up for a $69 annual fee for their Business Prime option.
Though this year’s event will last 48 hours, the company is keeping the name Prime Day. Typically, the event is held during the summer months when shopping tends to slow down, but this year’s event was pushed back due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a lot of speculation as to why the event was pushed back. It is likely that more than one reason contributed to the delay including the economic impact of the virus, the rise in U.S. cases over the summer, and the need to shop for big ticket items during the holiday season.
What to Expect
2019 marked the first year Amazon changed the event from a 24-hour period to 48 hours. The company sold 175 million items during its 48-hour period and achieved higher sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
Many consider Black Friday and Cyber Monday the official start of the holiday shopping season. By moving the event up a month, Amazon expects its customers to start holiday shopping a month early. While this may be seen as a risky move, Amazon has had a long-standing impact on shopping seasons over the years.
Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer, released a statement saying, “In the midst of an unprecedented year, we’re committed to making the most successful Prime Day ever for our small businesses and excited for Prime members worldwide to discover new ways to support local entrepreneurs and save big on everything they need and love. This year’s Prime Day is the perfect opportunity for Prime members to get their holiday shopping done early from the comfort of their homes – and to have more time to spend with their families and friends throughout the season.â€
Through the current climate of uncertainty, shoppers can still rely on Amazon to provide the lowest prices on electronics and various other items this holiday season.
