When is Amazon Prime Day 2020 in the United States?
Amazon has announced that Prime Day 2020 has been set back but as of the moment, no new date has been confirmed although October has been mentioned.
Amazon Prime Day 2020 won’t be taking place this summer in the United States, the company said in an official announcement this week, but promised that the event will likely go ahead later in the year. Prime Day usually takes place in July – it gives Amazon Prime members the chance to pick up bargains on thousands of items relisted for a limited time at huge discounts, many for half price or less.
Amazon warehouse workers busier during Coronavirus crisis
The reason why Prime Day has been postponed in the U.S. is down to increased demand for Amazon’s online service during the coronavirus pandemic. With more people buying online, the strain on Amazon’s workforce has also increased. The company employs around 800,000 full-time and part-time workers and explained it will not be putting warehouse workers’ health at risk by asking them to work extra hours when the country is still gripped by the coronavirus pandemic. They argue that it doesn’t make any sense to add more stress to a workforce which is already stretched to the limit.
Amazon has declined to give an official number of workers who have contracted Covid-19. At least eight warehouse workers are known to have died from Covid-19-related illnesses and last month, employees in Germany staged a two-day strike in protest of the conditions they have been forced to work in during the pandemic. Since then, Amazon have stepped up their coronavirus protocol, offering Covid-19 testing and unveiling the ‘Distant Assistant’ an AI app which helps employees to maintain social distancing in the workplace. The company also announced today that all frontline workers will receive a Thank You bonus for the month of June.
Prime Day could take place in early October
As for Prime Day in the U.S. some commentators have suggested that it could be rescheduled for October with possible dates either the 5th or 12th – as the event is traditionally held on a Monday. Holding the discount day in early October would also give shoppers a two-month rest period between the next big retail event, Black Friday, which is due to take place at in the last weekend of November. Amazon confirmed that Prime Day will take place in India on 6-7 August and a similar event is planned for Mexico towards the end of the year although an exact date has yet to be set.