Amazon Prime Day Will Look Very Different This Year
The annual sale is happening when it's never happened before.
For anyone who loves a good discount, Amazon Prime Day is the holy grail. The annual 48-hour shopping event offers Amazon Prime members once-a-year savings on some of the most popular items the site has to offer—and this year, it's going to look like it never has before. During an earnings conference call this week, Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky announced a big change for Amazon Prime Day 2021, according to CNBC. Read on to find out what you should know, and for more Amazon shopping tips, did you know that There's a Secret Store on Amazon With Tons of Popular Items on Sale.
Amazon Prime Day will be in June this year.
Since its inception in 2015, Amazon Prime Day has been in July. But last year—like most other things—that changed. Amazon delayed Prime Day until October, kicking off the holiday shopping season months early.
In stark contrast to 2020, Amazon Prime Day 2021 will be earlier than ever, taking place in June. The company made the decision due to "a number of factors," Olsavsky revealed on Apr. 29, including the Summer Olympics of 2020 now being in July 2021, as well as the fact that July is a "vacation month" for many families. "It might be better—for customers, sellers, and vendors—to experiment with a different time period," Olsavsky said.
The experts at CNBC note that this could also be Amazon's attempt to best its massive second quarter sales of 2020 when stay-at-home orders had people shopping—and stockpiling—in record numbers. Amazon's second-quarter revenue in 2020 went up 40 percent to $88.9 billion. July is in the third quarter of the fiscal year, the outlet notes. But an Amazon spokesperson denied that impetus to Recode. "Prime Day will be set without regard to Wall Street," she said.
"We believe that it might be better timing later in Q2. So that's what we're testing this year," Olsavsky explained. "We are going to do it on a date where we think it'll get more attention for our customers, and also for our vendors."
Recode was the first to report that Prime Day might move to June, with multiple sources telling them it will "most likely happen in the middle to latter part of the month," which an Amazon spokesperson declined to confirm or deny.
And for more ways to save on Amazon, Prime Day or not, check out The Secret Trick to Get Money From Amazon You Need to Know.
That means sales from other beloved brands could be earlier, too.
As one of the biggest shopping days of the year, Prime Day usually creates some serious sales competition, with retailers like Walmart and Target also offering competitive promotions.
In 2020, Walmart launched its "Big Save Event" ahead of Prime Day and had it last longer, Business Insider reports. Target's "Deal Days" event ran at the same time as Prime Day and offered shoppers "double the deals compared to last year."
"[Prime Day] creates excitement out of nowhere, right out of a vacuum," Marketplace Pulse founder and CEO Juozas Kaziukenas told CNBC. "People will just buy more things … and maybe it is a good time to do it in June, earlier."
And for the Walmart purchases to steer clear of, here are The 20 Worst Things to Buy at Walmart, According to Experts.
Experts predict clothing and travel items will see major discounts.
It's a unique year for shopping, considering many people in the U.S. spent much of 2020 at home wearing sweatpants on the bottom and work-appropriate tops. CNBC notes that previously, Amazon has pushed fashion finds on Prime Day to boost its clothing business, and this year could be just the right time to do so.
"Because there's a lot of excitement about things getting back to normal, and people probably are going to be buying more clothing items and more travel-related items that they have not been buying for a very long time," Kaziukenas said.
Additionally, this could be the first normal back-to-school season for kids in two years, and Prime Day might give parents a head start on their shopping lists.
And for more shopping tips and tricks sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
There's one way to find out first when exactly Amazon Prime Day 2021 will be.
Though we know it's in June, Amazon has not yet announced an official date for Prime Day, but in a statement to CNET, the company said you can find out first by asking Alexa, of course.
"We're excited for the return of Prime Day and look forward to providing our members with incredible savings, while investing in opportunities for our small business selling partners, and continuing to ensure the safety of our employees," an Amazon representative told the outlet. "We'll share more details soon and customers can also say, 'Alexa, keep me posted on Prime Day' to stay informed."
And for more on what not to do while shopping on Amazon, see why You Could Get Banned From Amazon For Doing This Common Thing.
