There just aren’t enough hours in the day, at least for Amazon and its summer shopping holiday Prime Day.
Amazon announced tonight that the third annual Prime Day will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific on Monday July 10 and run all day July 11, a 30-hour window for thousands of deals. The shopping event is open only to members of the company’s Prime fast-shipping program.
Amazon’s second annual Prime Day last year surpassed the inaugural event by 50 percent in the U.S. and by 60 percent worldwide, with “tens of millions” of customers making purchases. In its announcement of this year’s Prime Day, Amazon said it was “thrilled by the response over the last two years,” hence the decision to ramp up for the third edition of the shopping event.
“Every side of our business is working to deliver more deals for a record number of shoppers,” Greg Greeley, vice president Amazon Prime, said in a statement. “We even decided that 24 hours in a day just isn’t enough time to shop all of the great deals — so we’re giving Prime members 30 hours to shop on Prime Day!”
In addition to the extra shopping time, this year’s Prime Day has expanded to 13 countries. Prime members in China and Mexico will have the opportunity to shop local deals as well as sales from other countries via the Amazon Global Store.
Amazon didn’t give much detail about Prime Day deals, but the company did say it is stocking up on TVs.
“Amazon is planning one of its largest total volume TV deals in history with a record level of inventory but once again, the TV deals will likely sell out,” according to the press release. Amazon also plans to offer additional leading up to Prime Day.
This year there will be more “Alexa-exclusive” voice shopping deals for owners of Amazon Echo and other Alexa-powered devices. And for those thinking about picking up the new Echo Show, or another Alexa device, these gadgets were a big part of Prime Day last year, so we wouldn’t be surprised if there were some good deals on those first-party Amazon devices.
A new study from Radial, which helps retailers strengthen their e-commerce operations, claims the gravitational pull of Prime Day has extended the peak holiday shopping season. Radial recommends retailers ramp up their holiday operations starting in summer to take advantage of the longer peak season.
“According to F&D Reports, more than 3,600 retail stores have closed since January, with thousands more hanging in the balance,” said Stefan Weitz executive vice president of technology services at Radial. “This peak season will make or break retailers, who are depending on eCommerce success to drive profits and set them up for success in the New Year.”
