Amazon (AMZN 0.71%) has set the date -- actually, dates -- for its annual Prime Day shopping holiday. It will begin at midnight PDT on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and will run through Wednesday, Oct. 14, with the massive online retailer promising over 1 million deals on a wide range of familiar brands. As with the previous Prime Days, only members of the retailer's Prime loyalty program are eligible for the deals.
As part of the occasion, Amazon says it will run its "biggest small business promotion yet." In what it says is an effort to bolster sales from the many small businesses that sell through the site, Amazon will provide $10 in credit to Prime members who spend at least that amount on items from such vendors from now until Oct. 12. That credit can be used for any Amazon merchandise during Prime Day.
Image source: Amazon.com.
Other enticements include a $100 gift card for Prime members who apply, and are approved, for the retailer's Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature credit card, and a photo contest -- naturally, through the Amazon Photos app -- in which it will award $1,000 Amazon gift cards to 30 selected winners.
There is, of course, a long list of discounts and deals that will be offered even in advance of the two-day stretch. Never shy to tout its branded wares, Amazon is offering discounts on goods such as the Echo Dot and the Fire TV Recast starting on Monday, Sept. 28.
In mid-afternoon trading on Monday, Amazon was happily riding the bull wave. Its shares were up by 2%, slightly outpacing the gains of the wider stock market.
