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Amazon is officially hosting a second Prime Day sale event.
The Seattle-based retail giant announced today that its Prime Early Access sale will take place on October 11 and 12. The event aims to target customers who are starting their holiday shopping earlier than ever, with the aim of securing the best deals. During the sale, Amazon will release a top 100 list of “the season’s most popular and giftable items,” in addition to a list of popular toys, its press release says. This fall event marks the first time the retailer has planned two Prime sale events in one year.
Although Amazon has promised deals on top brands during the sale event, small businesses that sell on the platform also stand to benefit. During July’s annual Prime Day event, nearly two million small and mid-size businesses participated, bringing in $3 billion in sales. New features, like the small business badge, offered to help businesses succeed on the platform.
Reports indicate that customers have already started shopping for the holidays, as inflation has driven shoppers to seek out the best deals sooner, before prices might increase. There’s also a benefit for businesses to make their holiday sales as early as possible: Amazon will begin charging sellers a surcharge of 35 cents per item for using its fulfillment service between October 15 and January 14 to accommodate for holiday shipping and logistics cost increases. The timing of Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale may help businesses to push through a considerable number of orders before the holiday surcharge goes into effect.
Plus, with inflation impacting the cost of living, getting customers early–before they’ve hit their budgets or their credit card limits–will be key to holiday season success, Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at the global market research company NPD Group, told Inc. recently. “The early bird catches the worm,” he says. “You want to get to the consumer when they have money.”
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