What to expect from this year’s Amazon Prime Day

This year's Prime Day comes much earlier after Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) moved it from the third quarter to the second quarter. The event will kick off on Monday, June 21, making it the earliest since the launch of the shopping extravaganza.

It is Amazon’s 7^th Prime Day and comes just eight months after last's year event that was delayed until October amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expected increase in sales

While Amazon never discloses the exact financials of its mega sales events like Prime Day or Cyber Monday, e-marketer forecasts that worldwide sales will go up 19% to $11.8 billion this year in the 48-hour event. U.S sales will total an estimated $7.3 billion, while non-US sales will amount to $4.5 billion.

Stacey Widlitz, President of SW Retail Advisors, believes that due to stimulus checks and savings, retailers across the board have benefitted from the government's financial response. On CNBC she said COVID-19 “has cleared the deck” and pushed the retailers “to chase rather than stock”.

Beyond tracking sales, the key goal this year is for Amazon to attract new Prime members. To increase its subscription, the e-commerce giant will require members, both new and old, to have a Prime subscription in order to access deals.

Amazon has also placed huge discounts on its own products, a strategy designed to further expand its appeal. These include firesticks, kindles, and other private-label goods.

But as Amazon continues to face scrutiny for its anti-trust practices, the online giant is again trying to spotlight its market best sellers. The retail company has launched a "spend $10, get $10" promotion ahead of Prime Day. This campaign targets up to 300k sellers, mainly made up of small businesses.

Shortage in inventory

Over the last year, there has been an increase in the number of retailers and brands risking inventories. Ahead of Prime Day, there appears to very low inventory out there as there have been no promotions. Up to 70% of Amazon's best sellers are projecting a shortage in inventory.

Stacey Widlitz commenting on shortage of inventory says she expects less number of deals due to shortage of inventory. However, she believes Amazon is going to push its “hardware..to sell you more stuff”.

Commenting on the current trends in retail industry Wildlitz says that the virus-pandemic pushed retailers to invest in technology like opening up “omni-channels” and “pick up in store” and making them more profitable. However, she says “I don’t know, if this will last…because retailers are always tempted to get ahead of themselves when demand pick-ups.”