‘This is massive:’ Amazon extends Prime Day to four days and encourages shoppers to support Canadian brands

Boxes move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment centre. Photo by Jim Young/Bloomberg files

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Amazon.com Inc. announced Tuesday that it would be extending its annual Prime Day extravaganza to four days instead of two, and is offering patriotic and frugal Canadian consumers additional reasons to buy from the e-commerce retailer.

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Prime Day, when merchants on the platform offer discounts to Amazon Prime members, runs from July 8 to 11 this year.

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Canadian retired pro wrestler Bret Hart and YouTuber and TV host Lilly Singh are hosting a four-week sweepstakes from June 17 to July 11, offering Prime members the opportunity to earn prizes such as sports tickets, cruises and tech products.

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And starting June 18, Air Canada will offer Prime and Aeroplan members prizes, and extra Aeroplan points when purchasing through the Aeroplan eStore during Prime Day.

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“This is massive,” said Toronto-based retail analyst Bruce Winder. “They’ve really thrown everything they have but the kitchen sink to try to grab sales from a very frugal consumer.”

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This is likely a move to lure price-conscious shoppers amid inflation and trade war uncertainty, Winder said, noting that other retailers have been trying to offer more value to consumers this year as well.

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On Monday, Walmart Canada announced it had lowered prices on hundreds of staple items. Loblaw Companies Ltd. has also lowered prices at its No Frills stores and continued with its Hit of the Month program (launched last year), which offers discounts on a few items each month, Winder said.

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Jamil Ghani, vice-president of worldwide Amazon Prime, told Canoe that Amazon was “actively monitoring developments in the global trade environment” while looking to offer value to Prime members in Canada.

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Amazon noted in its Prime Day announcement that it encouraged shoppers to support Canadian brands on small businesses as well, highlighting deals through its online Canada Showcase storefront.

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“That’s definitely a shift we’re seeing in retail land right now, where Canadians are buying more Canadian-made or Canadian-produced items, and a lot of retailers (are taking note of that),” Winder said.

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Prime Day sales events have always done well, but have especially flourished in the past few years as consumers have become more “tuned in to value,” Winder said.

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In 2024, Amazon reported that its two-day shopping event resulted in record sales and more items sold than in previous years. American shoppers spent US$14.2 billion, 11 per more than they did last year, according to Adobe Analytics.

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Winder forecasted that this year’s sales will exceed last year’s Prime Day event, both because the length of the sale has doubled, and because Canadians who have been waiting for deals will likely pounce on Prime Day discounts for items they need.

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“Canadians aren’t spending as much at regular prices, they’re waiting for these mega deals,” he said.

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The latest data from Statistics Canada indicate retail sales climbed 0.8 per cent to $69.8 billion in March, but retail e-commerce declined 2.1 per cent to $4.2 billion.