Amazon Prime Day has been delayed in the US, the company announced today. The annual shopping event, which promises discounts for Amazon Prime members, usually takes place in mid-July, but Amazon has now confirmed that it intends to host the event “later than usual” this year. The company did not set a new date, but said it would soon “share more details.”
“This year we will celebrate Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and sales partners,” said a company spokesperson. The edge. They added that the company plans to go ahead with a discount event in India from August 6 to 7. “Members around the world will experience Prime Day later this year,” the spokesperson said.
The reason for the delay appears to be the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused demand for Amazon’s services to skyrocket during an economic downturn, adding $ 74 billion to Jeff Bezos’ personal fortune in 2020 for a total of $ 189.3 billion, according to Bloomberg The pandemic has also pressured the company to operate without endangering its warehouse workers. In mid-May, NBC News They reported that eight of the company’s warehouse workers had died from the virus, and Amazon is now facing a lawsuit by employees who allege that their hygiene policies didn’t go far enough to protect them. Amazon said in April that it expects to spend more than $ 4 billion on coronavirus-related expenses, including personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning facilities, and building its own COVID-19 test facility.
Rumors that the first day would be delayed date back to at least April, when it was reported that the event could be delayed until August. However, more recently, CNBC He reported that the company had told outside vendors to expect Prime Day to occur on October 5 of this year. That’s within two months of another major shopping day for Amazon, the Black Friday weekend, which will begin on November 27 of this year.
