- Amazon’s Prime Day 2020 deals event has been officially postponed to later this year, although the retailer has not provided a new date.
- The major shopping event usually takes place in mid-July, with Amazon offering several deals to Amazon Prime subscribers.
- The novel coronavirus pandemic forced Amazon to make changes to its 2020 schedule when it comes to Prime Day sales. India will get a Prime Day sale in early August.
Amazon launched a few years ago a summer sales event of Black Friday proportions called Prime Day, forcing its rivals to respond in kind with deals of their own. There’s no question that Prime Day is the most popular of them all, and Amazon expanded the event year after year. Prime Day sales were available for well over a day, and the sales reached more markets where Amazon is present locally. But this year, the novel coronavirus ruined normal life, and that includes announcements and sales the tech world had scheduled. Amazon is no different, and the retailer was long rumored to delay Prime Day 2020 on account of the pandemic. Amazon has confirmed the rumors, saying the deals bonanza will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers “later than usual.”
Amazon confirmed the Prime Day delay rumors on Tuesday, without actually providing a new date for the event that should have taken place this month. The company will share “more details soon,” CNBC reports.
“Over the last five years, Prime Day has become a special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals for themselves and for friends and family — and it’s something we look forward to every year,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “This year, we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners.”
Amazon told third-party resellers earlier this month to use the week of October 5th as a “placeholder date” for Prime Day promotions and coupons, the report notes. But the company has not confirmed the date and declined to comment on the matter.
We do have one Prime Day date at this time, as Amazon has scheduled the Indian version of the sales event for August 6-7. India currently has the world’s third-largest COVID-19 caseload after America and Brazil, having surpassed one million cases just a few days ago. It’s unclear why Amazon decided to go forward with a Prime Day event in the region, as the local outbreak seems far from being controlled.
Several European countries have flattened the curve, and Amazon could hold local Prime Day events, but that’s not the case.
As for the early October Prime Day, even in the US and elsewhere, it’ll be interesting to see how Amazon handles two significant sales events this fall. There’s no reason to suspect that Black Friday 2020 sales will be delayed or suspended this year.
On the other hand, the coronavirus pandemic cratered the worldwide economy as millions of people lost their jobs in response to lockdown measures that were imposed around the world. The retail sector will suffer as a result, and buyers will welcome sales and discounts.
In the past few months, Amazon took several measures to prioritize essential products during the lockdown weeks, as more people started ordering products online. The retailer experienced shortages and shipping delays as it was struggling to meet demand and ensure the safety of employees. Amazon also had to deal with a wave of protests in the first months of the US outbreaks.
The evolution of the pandemic in America and elsewhere could still affect Amazon’s business operations, Prime Day, and Black Friday shopping events included.
