As you no doubt remember, Amazon Prime Day typically falls at some point during the summer. So what’s all this about it taking place on October 13th this year?
We can include Amazon Prime Day in the running list of annual events that have been disrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Everything Store isn’t going to just let an opportunity to rake in the big bucks pass it by. This year, Prime Day was not canceled but merely rescheduled. Like in recent years, it will be a 48-hour event. And, as noted above, it will begin on October 13.
The first question that came to my mind when I heard the news is: “Isn’t this a little close to Black Friday?” Turns out, experts expect Black Friday (and its little brother “holiday,” Cyber Monday) to be a dud this year. I’m not sure if it is because shipping times are longer this year, or because everybody is stuck at home with nothing better to do than browse on Amazon, but whatever the reason, people are apparently doing their annual Christmas shopping starting now.
There is perhaps no better proof of this than another online sale going on next week. To compete with Amazon, Best Buy is literally holding a “Black Friday” sale, also on October 13 and 14. (You know, because words have no meaning anymore).
Next Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll keep an eye on both events and be sure to let you know if we see anything worth pulling the trigger on. In particular, Amazon is expected to push its new smart home products. Right now, there’s nothing we can do but wait and see.
