Amazon Ready for Prime Time

Amazon Prime Day is back – and so are people’s thoughts about the two-day promotion.

On the heels of the company’s June 21 announcement that Prime Day is returning on July 11 and 12, many customers welcomed the news on social media. Data from reverse logistics platform Pollen Returns projects that next month’s sale will continue the trend of topping previous Prime Days, noting that this is the first event in which the oldest members of Gen Z are adults with disposable income.

At the same time, there are a few wrinkles this time around. In April, Amazon began charging a $1 fee for some returns made through UPS. A month later, the e-commerce giant – No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America– started offering customers in the United States $10 to pick up purchases instead of having them shipped to home addresses.

Also clouding this year’s Prime Day is the lawsuit filed on June 21 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The U.S. government agency alleges that Amazon tricked millions of consumers into signing up for its Prime service via misleading practices and has made it difficult for current members to drop the subscription.

Gerardo Dada, chief marketing officer at digital experience observability firm Catchpoint, told Progressive Grocer that the despite recent changes, Amazon is still setting the retail bar in many ways, including for grocers. “The rest of the retailers are fighting to compete against the convenience and the logistics powerhouse that Amazon has built. I can go to the nearest grocery to buy bacon or place an order on Amazon and it will be here in a few hours,” he pointed out.

“Prime Day is forcing people to rethink all of the stuff they can buy on Amazon,” Dada continued. “And Amazon has gotten so big that competing against them and standing out from the buzz will be difficult.”

In this environment, grocers, including those with a robust e-commerce business, can build on their own strengths, he added. “I think they are better off creating their own event rather than trying to compete on those same days,” Dada said.

Amazon, for its part, is going full speed ahead on offerings for Prime Day, including deals that will drop every 30 minutes during select periods on July 11 and 12. Shoppers can score savings from brands like Hey Dude and Bose, and find back-to-school items for their return to campuses and classrooms. Certain deals are available now for Prime members, including savings on Quip oral care products and Madison Reed hair care items.

"Prime Day is all about making our Prime members feel like a big deal, with deep savings and access to some of the best offers from brands they love," said Jamil Ghani, VP of Amazon Prime. "With Invite-only deals, we’re adding more value to the Prime experience and have made it easier for our Prime members to access exclusive doorbuster deals at incredible prices without waiting in line.”

According to Seattle-based Amazon, there are more than 200 million paid Prime members in 25 countries around the world. In the United States, consumers can become a member for $14.99 a month or $139 a year and have the option to start a 30-day trial if eligible.