Amazon Prime Day Seen to Rake in $10 Billion
Amazon Prime Day 2020 is set on Tuesday with a prediction of it earning $10 billion for Jeff Bezos' e-commerce giant.
It could make Bezos' net worth around $200 billion, making him even richer. He remains the company's largest individual shareholder, and the stock has gained 86 percent already this year.
Amazon earlier postponed Prime Day until Oct. 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will run until Wednesday.
Analysts forecast that Amazon Prime Day can expect a worldwide sales jump of 43 percent to reach $9.91 billion. eMarketer Principal Analyst Andrew Lipsman said Amazon Prime Day this year would not be the same as it since debut five years ago.
"Against the backdrop of a pandemic and recessionary headwinds, this year's event promises significant changes that will shake up the entire retail landscape heading into the holidays," Lipsman said in a report.
Lipsman noted that Prime Day comes three months later than its usual mid-July timing. It will result in a different focus. Lipsman said this de-emphasized the products for summer and back-to-school and made the event an early lead to the holiday season.
Last year's Amazon Prime Day earned nearly $7.1 billion, according to Statista. The first Amazon Prime Day back in 2016 gained $1 billion in worldwide sales.
Prime Day showcases extraordinary deals for branded products and has become Amazon's biggest sales day of the year. It is seen to be bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday together.
The retail giant uses Prime Day to attract more Prime members as only those who are Amazon Prime members can join in the anticipated sale. To be a member, it costs $119 a year.
Antitrust Issues
Amazon has been accused of monopolizing and stifling competitors. The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee's Democratic leadership found that Amazon has a "significant and durable market power" in the country's online retail market.
The antitrust report further noted that Amazon's dominant force in the market had earned a monopoly power over third-party sellers on its marketplace.
Lawmakers also found that Amazon has stifled competition in other areas than retail. The lawmakers concluded that Amazon has the incentive and ability to exploit.
One unnamed venture capital investor said: "I think of Amazon as the sun. It is useful but also dangerous. If you're far enough away you can bask. If you get too close you'll get incinerated."
Amazon has disputed the lawmakers' findings. Amazon said their recommendations would reduce competition, forcing millions of independent retailers out of online stores.
The retail giant said that all large organizations attract regulators' attention, adding that they welcome the scrutiny.
"But large companies are not dominant by definition, and the presumption that success can only be the result of anti-competitive behavior is simply wrong," the company noted.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos founded the e-commerce company in 1994 from his garage in Seattle. In 2019, Amazon earned $280.5 billion in revenues and $11.5 billion in net profit.
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