Amazon says Prime Day will run July 16 and 17

Amazon‘s Prime Day megasale will return on July 16 and 17, the company announced Tuesday.

Like previous years, Amazon said the event will feature millions of deals, with new discounts dropping “as often as every five minutes during select periods throughout the event.” The company will once again offer invite-only deals where members of its Prime subscription club can request an invitation to access discounts on items that typically sell out fast. It first rolled out invite-only deals for Prime members last year.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 as a way to offer discounts exclusively to members of its mainstay subscription program. Prime costs $139 per year and includes perks like speedy shipping and access to streaming services. The discount bonanza is partially designed to attract new Prime subscribers, to promote Amazon’s products and services and to provide a sales boost during a normally slower shopping period.

The event is also a big revenue driver for other retails, who often hold competing events during or around Prime Day. Walmart on Tuesday announced its own “Walmart Deals” event that runs July 8 through July 11. In years past, Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy have launched similar events.

Last year, total online sales in the U.S. during Amazon’s Prime Day event hit a record $12.7 billion, and surpassed 2022’s total of $11.9 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. Amazon said it sold 375 million items during the two-day discount event, up from 300 million items sold in 2022.

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