Amazon Bumps Up Prime Day to 48 Hours, While More Competitors Plan Sales Too

Amazon Prime Day is leaving its marks on the back-to-school season, which is the second biggest selling season for many retailers behind Christmas.Prime Day 2019 runs 48 hours starting at midnight on Monday, July 15, Amazon said Tuesday. It's already posted many of its "one million deals" on its website, some starting early. And this year, it's created a dedicated page of Prime Day deals from U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, which it said last had sales of more than $1.5 billion during Prime Day.Whole Foods Market is planning new product launches and discounts as part of Prime Day.Prime Day has lengthened the back-to-school shopping season, according to a new report from RetailMeNot, an Austin-based digital discount website.Peak shopping days now run across three months with the No. 1 day being Prime Day followed by the first weekend in August. Labor Day weekend ranks third.Other retailers can't ignore it.More than 250 retailers are expected to offer their own discounts on July 15 and 16, according to RetailMeNot. That's up 30% from last year and has been growing steadily since Amazon created its summer promotion in 2015."Given the long season, retailers will need to prioritize their marketing spend and discounting activities across the three months to meet consumers where they are in the shopping journey," said Michelle Skupin, senior director of marketing at RetailMeNot.The company's data shows that moving promotions into peak times results in higher sales, Skupin said.  Continue reading...