Amazon Delays US Prime Day Sale As Pandemic Continues To Worsen, No Date In Sight

Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ: AMZN) “Prime Day,” an annual sale event scheduled for mid-July, has been postponed in the United States, CNBC reported.

What Happened

"This year we'll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners," the Jeff Bezos-led e-commerce company said.

Amazon hasn't announced a specific date for the event, but reportedly said it would come up with “more details soon” surrounding the two-day shopping event. It confirmed that Prime Day will take place in India between August 6 and August 7.

Last month, Prime Day was said to have been rescheduled to September as the retailer struggles with increased pressures on its warehouses brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

In July, reports emerged that Amazon had told its third-party retailers to prepare for the event in early October, CNBC noted.

Why It Matters

The resurgence of the pandemic threatens to again inundate Amazon’s infrastructure.

COVID-19 may also dampen demand for the event as business closures lead to higher unemployment, James Thomson, a former Amazon manager, told CNBC.

Amazon’s shares surged Monday by near 8% to $3,196.84 on accounts of a rosier outlook for online retail and a Goldman analyst upgrading the stock’s price to $3,800 per share. On the same day, Bezos’s wealth grew by $13 billion to $74 billion.

Price Action

The company's shares traded nearly 1.5% higher at $3,244 in the pre-market session Tuesday.