Amazon to hold an early mid-October sale to capture more holiday spending

Idea behind such member-only sales is to prompt some customers to buy Prime subscriptions

The online retail giant Amazon.com announced a sale for shoppers who are part of its loyalty club. It was an event similar to the Prime Day summer marketing blitz that aims to boost its revenue during the holiday season and appeal to the cost-conscious buyers facing economic turbulence. The "Prime Early Access Sale" will start on October 11th at midnight Pacific Daylight Time (0700 GMT) for 48 hours in 15 countries, Amazon said.

The Vice President of Amazon, Jamil Ghani said that the rationale behind the second Amazon sale event was to encourage customers to do their holiday shopping earlier and also face the “macroeconomic environment” customers faced. He said that “there is a desire among consumers to save and make the dollar stretch further.” Ghani declined from offering revenue forecasts for how the event would fare in comparison to Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales this fall or to July's Prime Day. The idea behind such member-only sales is to prompt some customers to buy Prime subscriptions and shop more on Amazon.