By
Chimamanda U. Martha
March 11th, 2024
Amazon has revealed a delay in its annual Prime Day sales. It will however hold the event for Prime subscribers in India in August. Meanwhile, AMZN stock managed to gain almost 8% yesterday and is up now.
On Tuesday, 21st July, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced the delay of its annual Prime Day in the U.S. The event which took place in July last year has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon is yet to declare the new dates for the usual two-day event, but the company promised to give “more details soon.”
During the recent coronavirus lockdown, Amazon had a massive increase in orders, forcing it to limit the dispatch of certain items. The online platform focused on the shipment of orders relating to medical and household supplies. On the 30th of April, Amazon announced employing 175,000 workers to improve “delivery network in response to increased customer demand and to assist existing employees.”
Meanwhile, as Amazon plans to release second-quarter earnings report before the end of the month, its stock jumped 7.93% on Monday. Presently at pre-market trading of $3,243.00, the stock is up by 1.44% over its previous close of $3,196.84. Amazon has gained 37.31% in the last three months, and 15.64% in the past month.
Amazon Prime Day Delay
Though this year turned out to be a quite unusual one for all the markets and companies, some delays and changes still sometimes come unexpectedly.
An Amazon spokesperson commented on the delay of the annual Prime Day:
“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. 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.”
Despite the Prime Day delay in the U.S., the event will take place in India in August. According to Amazon, there will be a Prime Day in India, from midnight on August 6th to the 7th. This will be the first time the event will not hold simultaneously for all Prime members.
Before this year’s delay, the annual Prime Day is held in July. Although there is no new date, a Wall Street Journal report says the event was rescheduled for September due to the pandemic.
Amazon launched Amazon Prime back in 2015. The service is a subscription that includes certain benefits such as faster shipping, music and video streaming and more. The company takes advantage of the annual event to sign up new Prime members and also promote its various services. Over the years, Amazon Prime developed and is now available internationally. The Prime Day sales also service subscribers in the UK, Italy, Spain, China, Australia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, among others. Last year, Amazon introduced a sales event to the United Arab Emirates.
According to a Statista report, the number of U.S.-based Amazon Prime subscribers in 2019 increased from 95 million in June to 112 million in December. In addition, another report by Statista shows the amount both Prime and non-Prime members spend every year. The report says that the average annual Prime purchase is about $1,400.