Amazon announces dates for this year’s Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day sales event will be held June 21 and 22, the company said Wednesday.

Amazon usually holds Prime Day in the summer, but last year it was postponed until October because of the pandemic. Amazon said that last year’s Prime Day was its best on record.

Prime Day, which has taken place since 2015, only makes up around 1% to 2% of Amazon’s annual sales, analysts say. The vast majority of the company’s offerings on Prime Day in the past are exclusive to Prime members — the $120-a-year subscription that offers customers music, movies, TV shows and free shipping. Amazon holds the event each year to build loyalty with Prime subscribers and hook new shoppers to the program.

Amazon will offer upwards of two million deals on products to Prime members this year — more than it has offered in previous years— Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said during a press event Tuesday.

The company is also using Prime Day to highlight how the savings event benefits independent merchants that sell goods through its website.

Prime members will get a $10 credit on Prime Day if they spend $10 at select small businesses from June 7 through June 20, Amazon said. The company said it was part of a new $100 million investment the company was making to boost small businesses.

“This is our biggest promotion for small business sellers in our history,” Keri Cusick, head of small business empowerment, said at the press event Tuesday.

Amazon faces intense scrutiny from lawmakers about its power over third-party sellers on the site.

The District of Columbia filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon last week, alleging that Amazon’s contracts prohibit sellers from offering their products at a lower price on other websites. Amazon has said “sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store.”