Amazon Officially Postpones Prime Day

EDIT: CNBC reports US Prime Day moved back to October

Surprising nobody, Amazon has officially confirmed the postponement of this year’s Prime Day sale. Given that the event has typically happened in the middle of July, it was already running late by the time of the announcement.

However, expectations were low that the continuing Covid-19 crisis would not hinder Amazon’s own shopping holiday. Earlier in the year, separate reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal suggested delays up to September, and the recent indications are that Amazon will once again impose restrictions on its US sellers in the light of the sharp spike in coronavirus cases, and the fear of a second string of lockdowns.

In contrast to this, Prime Day in India is going ahead on August 6th through 7th, which may be surprising in light of the continued surge of cases in that country as well. As of this point, Amazon has yet to clarify if other international marketplaces will have their Prime Day delayed until the US one launches, or if we will see staggered local events in the same vein as India.

But, as noted by Techcrunch, Amazon’s US market share will climb to 38% anyway, thanks to the unique situation we find ourselves in. So maybe they don’t need Prime Day after all?