Amazon has demonstrated confidence in its delivery network with the announcement of its own flash sale event, which it says will involve more deals than Black Friday.
The event, christened "Prime Day", marks the online retailer’s 20th anniversary, and will be available only to those with Amazon Prime membership.
Starting at midnight on Wednesday 15th July, Amazon will start to push a series of deals onto its American and UK sites which it said will offer “more deals than Black Friday”.
Amazon Prime customers are entitled to free two-day delivery as part of their membership package, so an event like Prime Day, which will presumably see a large spike in buying activity, will require a watertight delivery system to keep its customers happy.
Greg Greeley, Vice President Amazon Prime, said: “Prime Day is a one-day only event filled with more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members around the globe. Members tell us every day how much they love Prime and we will keep making it better.”
The event will also be available for customers in Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria.
The news comes after Yodel chief executive Dick Stead warned operators that offering free next-day delivery in peak times such as Christmas or Black Friday can put an unnecessary strain on operating costs.
Speaking at the Mail and Express Delivery Show in London last week, Stead told delegates that research conducted by Yodel had predicted a significant rise in Black Friday buying later this year.