Amazon (AMZN) Postpones Prime Day, But Has a New Sale Waiting

So one of the biggest questions post-pandemic for a lot of people out there was “But what effect does all this have on Prime Day?”. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) runs its premiere non-Black-Friday sale every year around this time, but with the pandemic running roughshod over all our traditions so far, this might simply have been the latest. Indeed, it was simply the latest, but the postponed Prime Day event comes with a whole new event to serve as its placeholder for now.

The Big Question on Most Shoppers' Minds: Why?

Yes, those who were hoping to follow up on several past July events with another July Prime Sale will be disappointed. Right now, it's been pushed back to September, and if it doesn't show up then, it might not show up at all this year since Black Friday sales will only be about two months after that.

This likely raises questions of motive; after all, Amazon managed to stay open during the entirety of the pandemic, though there were shipping delays and a higher rate of failed deliveries than normal. So why would they pull the plug on one of their biggest selling events? As it turns out, the strategy that got Amazon through the pandemic is pretty much incompatible with producing a Prime Day.

Amazon, as people who tried to order anything that wasn't considered an “essential item” already well know, prioritized “essential items” during the pandemic. This helped ensure that shipments of food, cleaning products and other such items got to where they needed to be, when they needed to be there. Meanwhile, other items got shoved to the back of the queue and left shoppers waiting indeterminate periods of time to get their goods.

Since a Prime Day would involve a lot of formerly non-essential goods, the warehouses and supply operations really aren't set up to make such runs just yet. That would mean a Prime Day with lots of “item not available” listings, and that makes Prime Day a lot less prime.

Introducing The Big Style Sale! ...No, Really. That's What It's Called.

Yet Amazon, likely not wishing to disappoint customers ready to actually give them money, has launched something of an alternative known as The Big Style Sale. The Big Style Sale is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, in which “established and smaller fashion brands” will get some special highlighting and a bit of a chance to shine.

This gives Amazon a couple advantages. One, clothing is at least within striking range of an “essential item.” That means it fits better in Amazon's current stance. Two, it's also a much smaller event, which means it's a lot easier to work with overall. Three, it's an “invitation-only” event, which means Amazon only needs to accommodate a specific set of sellers. Specifically, those who were willing to offer up their products for at least 30% off normal prices, reports note, in exchange for an indeterminate quantity of extra marketing.

Amazon's not saying much about what will show up on The Big Style Sale, but current reports suggest it's “seasonally relevant” fashions. This means summer wear, and plenty of it.

If You Mark it Down, Will They Come?

The good news is that Amazon is likely to find plenty of clothiers willing to answer its call for cheap clothing to highlight in this sale. Clothes sales took a beating during the pandemic because your options for trying on clothes were pretty well minimal without being willing to do a lot of returns. Plus, much like what happened  in the oil market, clothiers didn't slow down production very much into the face of hefty demand destruction, leaving clothiers with an equally hefty surplus on hand.

So now, we're left at a bit of a crossroads. Will Amazon shoppers turn to The Big Style Sale to fill some holes in their wardrobes at what will likely be substantial discounts? Will Amazon shoppers hold their fire—and wallets—until Prime Day actually arrives, assuming it even does this year? Will Amazon shoppers find this offering entirely too weak a sauce, and sit out altogether?

Don't forget the ongoing and still massive issue of unemployment rates; that's going to weigh on all of Amazon's selling, no matter what's on the block. Just to round it out, consider all the going out of business sales currently being seen at brick-and-mortar alternatives; will people put a lot of cash into buying extra clothes when they can have entire store fixtures for pennies? Only time will ultimately tell, but The Big Style Sale could ultimately be A Big Style Flop for the internet's biggest retailer.