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Amazon officially delays Prime Day until 'later this year'

The company will host its shopping event in India from August 6th, however.

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Amazon’s own shopping holiday — Prime Day — will still go ahead this year, but it won’t be for a while, the company announced on Tuesday. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect operations worldwide, a spokesperson confirmed “we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual,” while promising to share “more details soon.”

The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Prime Day 2019 ran for two days from July 15th, and on July 16th the year before. Separate reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal cited delays from July to August and then September. However, Prime Day will take place in India between August 6th and August 7th.

“Over the last five years, Prime Day has become a special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals for themselves and for friends and family – and it’s something we look forward to every year,” the spokesperson shared in a statement to TechCrunch. ”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners. We are excited Prime members in India will see savings on August 6th - 7th, and that members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year.”

Back in March, Amazon said it was seeing unprecedented demand in the wake of the COVID-19. It promised to hire an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery staff in the US, after temporarily restricting the items third-party sellers could store in its warehouses to prioritize the delivery of cleaning and medical supplies.

The company has also come under fire over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly from employees. Workers at its Staten Island warehouse have sued the company, accusing it of not following CDC and New York state public health guidelines, as well as New York quarantine laws. Amazon reiterated that it followed all necessary guidelines, and that 91 of its facilities have passed state inspections.