What happened
Shares of Amazon (AMZN 3.43%) climbed higher Monday morning, adding as much as 3.1%. As of 1:29 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 1.5% -- even as each of the major stock indexes slumped.
The catalyst that sent the e-commerce giant higher were reports the company will hold a second Prime Day sale this year, which will kick off in just weeks.
So what
In a press release that dropped early this morning, the company introduced Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale, a shopping event exclusively for Prime members, which will be held on Oct. 11-12. "The new 48-hour event gives Prime members exclusive early access to holiday deals," the company said in a statement. The sale will have items from popular brands, including Peloton and New Balance, while also offering the lowest prices of the year on a variety of other products.
The sale will be available in 15 countries -- including the U.S. -- "giving members a chance to kick off the holiday shopping season early with hundreds of thousands of deals." As part of the event, Amazon is providing a Top 100 list, which will include "the season's most popular and giftable items."
Furthermore, members will be provided with "early access" to check out the holiday gift guides and early deals beginning today. Initial promotions include a four-month free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, a free one-year subscription to Just Eat Takeway.com's Grubhub+, or a third-generation Echo Dot for $0.99.
Now what
Since it was introduced in 2015 to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary, Amazon Prime Day has become a customer-favorite event, spawning a multitude of copycats and imitators. While the company keeps details about the financial results of the event quiet, estimates suggest that Prime Day (which is now a two-day event) generated record sales of $12 billion in 2022. It's important to view that in context, however, as it's just a drop in the bucket compared to the $470 billion in revenue Amazon generated last year.
Still, given the growing importance of its annual sale, it's not too surprising that Amazon would double down on the event -- much to the delight of its shareholders.
