Amazon extends Prime Day discounts amid growing tariff uncertainty for sellers

Amazon has extended its famous annual Prime Day discounts for its members, which will now be in effect across four days this year, starting today, amid past speculation over tariff-related price increases.

The 11th year in Prime Day history kicks off with Amazon doubling the amount of time consumers can take advantage of discounted items from 48 to 96 hours, starting 3:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, and runs until midnight on July 11, the company announced.

Amazon extends Prime Day deals

For the first time in history, Prime Day will be held over four days, marking a significant expansion from the company’s initial launch of the discount sale event in 2015, which was initially two days long.

Amazon Prime Day discounts are offered for any Prime member, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. Additionally, young adults ages 18-24 receive a discounted rate of $7.49 per month or $69 per year for an Amazon Prime membership.

Included in this year’s Prime Day sales, shoppers can purchase a Sony 65-inch television (57% off), an Amazon Fire tablet (50% off), and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone (45% off).

Tariff’s impact on Prime Day deals

Two and a half months ago, an online report suggested that Amazon planned to provide added tariff costs next to a product’s price on its website, sparking speculation leading up to this year’s Prime Day. Amazon executives declined to comment on the potential impacts the new tariffs could have on Prime Day discounts, according to The Associated Press.

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, deemed the possible change a “hostile and political act,” which spurred further clarification from Amazon executives that the idea was specifically targeted for its low-cost Haul storefront, although it was never approved.

Independent retailers that sell through Amazon account for more than 60% of the company’s retail sales. However, in order to preserve profit margins amid tariff uncertainty, some third-party sellers may not participate in Prime Day this year.

In May, Amazon executives reported that many third-party sellers and the company itself tried to beat the heightened import taxes by stocking up on foreign goods before the tariffs took effect. As a result, many of Amazon’s third-party sellers did not need to raise prices to recoup the potential decreased profit margin.

A United National Consumer Supplies spokesperson said that some third-party sellers have noted they would rather take a sales hit during Prime Day and save their pre-tariff inventory than sell a majority of it at a discount, and risk lower profit margins in the future, according to AP.

On the contrary, other independent businesses that use Amazon to sell their products see Prime Day as an opportunity to unload the pre-tariff inventory they built up earlier in the year.

Outdoor Fellow, a home fragrance company, makes roughly 30% of its sales inside of Amazon’s marketplace, and its founder, Patrick Jones, noted that the company buys a majority of its items from China.

“All the product that we have on Amazon right now is still from the inventory that we got before the tariffs went into effect,” Jones said. “So we’re still able to offer the discount that we’re planning on doing.”

Prime Day expectations

Adobe Digital Insights predicted that the four-day Prime discounts could draw $23.8 billion in purchases from consumers, a 28.4% increase from last year; however, the Prime Day window was half the length of this year’s sale, according to AP.

Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of consumer insights and strategy, mentioned that sales in July have seen a slump in recent years.

“What we saw last year was that (shoppers) bought, and then they were done,” Schwartz told AP. “We know that the consumer is still really cautious. So it’s likely we could see a similar pattern where they come out early, they’re ready to buy, and then they take a step back.”

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