Just as soon as it wrapped up Prime Day, Amazon has already moved on to the holiday shopping season.
Amazon on Friday launched its Holiday Dash sales event, which the company has pegged as a way for shoppers to "beat the holiday hustle" this year. It features a range of early holiday shopping deals every day across a number of categories, including toys, fashion, electronics and home goods.
The event comes two days after Amazon's 48-hour Prime Day concluded on Wednesday. The mega-event provided a boost to third-party sellers, generating more than $3.5 billion in sales for the small and medium-sized businesses on its marketplace.
Amazon was forced to postpone Prime Day from mid-July to October as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The move rippled across the entire retail industry, forcing rivals Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others to launch discounts around Prime Day and pulling forward the holiday shopping season one month earlier.
Many retailers are hoping that an early start to the holiday shopping season will lighten some of the load of online shopping and avoid any strain that might generate on their supply chains. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are expected to be primarily offered online, as retailers look to reduce crowding in stores.
To compensate for the earlier start, Amazon has also extended its returns window, so that most items shipped now through Dec. 31 can be returned until Jan. 31, 2021.
