Amazon Prime Day on track to become the biggest shopping event in its history

Amazon.com Inc said on 11 July its **Prime Day** sale was on track to be the biggest shopping event in its history by sales. The world’s largest online retailer said customers ordered more than three times as many Echo-family speakers than during Prime Day 2016, which at the time broke sales records for **Amazon** devices. Third-parties sold over 50 percent more units on its site by noon local time (1900 GMT) than in the same time frame last year, the company said in a statement.

The news underscores Amazon’s break-neck pace of growth as more shoppers order online instead of going to brick-and-mortar stores. It also highlights the winning formula of Amazon’s shopping club Prime, the cornerstone of its business.

Customers had to join Amazon Prime to get discounts during the 30-hour event. US members of the club pay $99 per year for benefits like two-day shipping, and they tend to buy more goods, more often from Amazon. A timer showing when the deals would expire added further shopping encouragement.

Spotlights on deals for the voice-controlled Echo speakers had the promise of boosting sales indirectly, too. The devices let shoppers re-order products by voice command, removing friction from checkout. Amazon ‘Prime-day’ deals went live at 6:00 PM on 10, July, 2017 and a ton of discounts and offers are on the table. The sale is a global event being held in 13 countries simultaneously including India.

With inputs from Reuters