Amazon plans to shift its flagship Prime Day shopping event to late June instead of July, marking a rare change to the timing of one of the biggest fixtures in the global ecommerce calendar.

The annual promotion, launched in 2015 to attract new subscribers to Amazon’s Prime membership programme, has traditionally taken place in July. According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the plans, the company intends to hold the sale in late June this year, although Amazon declined to comment on the report.

The change would move the surge in sales generated by the event into the company’s second quarter rather than the third, potentially altering how quarterly revenue patterns appear in financial results. Prime Day has become one of the company’s most significant commercial events, driving a sharp increase in online spending and traffic across its marketplace.

Bloomberg reported that the timing adjustment is likely to affect thousands of third-party sellers that rely on the annual sales push to attract customers and clear inventory. Amazon accounts for roughly 40 cents of every dollar spent online in the United States, meaning the scheduling of the promotion is closely watched by retailers and brands hoping to benefit from the rise in online activity.

Data from Adobe Analytics show the scale of the event’s impact on the wider retail sector. During last year’s Prime Day, which Amazon extended from two days to four, online spending across all US retailers rose 30 per cent year on year to $24.1 billion, according to the company.

The event has increasingly coincided with back-to-school shopping in the US, with discounts spanning categories including electronics, clothing and household goods. Rival retailers in the country such as Walmart and Target frequently run competing promotions during the same period in an attempt to capture a share of the surge in consumer demand.

Retailers also use mid-year discount events to build customer loyalty ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season. Summer sales can influence spending patterns for months, particularly as households plan purchases linked to education and seasonal needs.

Recent consumer spending trends have remained relatively steady despite trade tensions and a softer labour market, according to Reuters. Tax refunds are expected to support household spending, though geopolitical risks, including conflict in the Middle East, could influence consumer confidence in the months ahead.

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