Amazon delays Prime Day in 2 countries as COVID-19 cases surge
Prime Day in the US is still expected to take place in the second quarter
Amazon is postponing its Prime Day sales event for some international markets as coronavirus cases continue to surge.
The company is pausing the two-day shopping event for Prime members in Canada and India, the e-commerce giant confirmed to FOX Business. Both countries are facing a surge in coronavirus cases.
An official date has yet to be announced.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 207.89 | +2.15 | +1.05% |
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The Seattle-based company's Prime Day – which started in 2015 – usually occurs in the second quarter of the fiscal year, particularly in July.
Amazon Prime day logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
That changed in 2020 when the pandemic delayed the shopping event by several months.
However, last month Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky alluded to investors in an earnings call that U.S. shoppers could expect it to happen sometime early this summer.
AMAZON PRIME DAY GETS NEW DATE
"We are excited to announce that we will hold the two-day savings event during the second quarter," Olsavsky said during the company's earnings call on Thursday.
Although Olsavsky declined to give an exact date, he noted it will likely fall toward the latter end of the quarter which would indicate a June date while promising to share more details soon.
Bumping up the date is likely to help the e-commerce giant.
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"There are a number of factors, the Olympics, which are still out there this year. In fact, in some – many areas, July is a big vacation month," he said. "So, it might be better to have – for customers, sellers and vendors to experiment with a different time period," Olsavsky said.
