Amazon prepares Summer Sale to win back lost customers

With Prime Day reportedly delayed, the e-commerce giant might still flog some bargains soon

Amazon is reportedly preparing a “Summer Sale” event in an attempt to win back customers after the company’s sales were dented by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s unclear if this new sale would be US-only or for several of the countries Amazon operates in.

The New York Times reported the Summer Sale is being brought in to “let brands sell excess inventory, according to an audio recording of an internal meeting discussing the promotion.” It comes after Amazon was said to have postponed its usual July Prime Day sale until August or September for fear of not being able to cope with the increased demand and being able to stick to its usually whip-fast delivery promises.

It seems odd that Amazon would think it could handle a “Summer Sale” when Prime Day is effectively that, but perhaps the retailer doesn’t want to risk spoiling the Prime brand with late deliveries and has organised another sale first as a test run. This could be in July, when Prime Day normally runs. 

The Times reports that before the pandemic Amazon accounted for a staggering 42 percent of online sales in the US, but that number now stands at 34 percent. Amazon’s tight running of some 500 warehouses in the States has creaked under the pressure of workers staying home and state-enforced social distancing rules.

Amazon, arguably unethically, has lured US workers back to warehouses by stopping its unlimited paid time off offer on 1 May and the company is now said to feel it can return to its previous level of order fulfilment.

We’ll keep an eye out to see if this purported Summer Sale will reach the UK, where Amazon’s deliveries have been disrupted also thanks to ongoing lockdown rules.