Amazon shifts Prime Day to June as World Cup looms

Amazon will hold its 2026 Prime Day sales event from 23 to 26 June, moving the annual promotion back to June for the first time since 2021 as the retailer seeks to avoid a crowded July calendar that includes the FIFA World Cup and US Independence Day celebrations.

The four-day event will run across Europe, the US and other international markets, offering hundreds of thousands of deals exclusively to Prime members. Amazon said the promotion will begin at 12:01am CET on 23 June and feature discounts across categories including electronics, fashion, beauty, homeware and groceries.

Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said: "Prime Day is the biggest shopping event of the year exclusively for members, whether they're looking for deals on the latest electronics, getting ahead on back-to-school shopping, or saving on fresh groceries and household essentials."

Speaking to Reuters, Ghani pointed to upcoming events such as the World Cup and the United States Semiquincentennial as motivators to make "this week (beginning June 22) the best week for us to hold Prime Day.”

Prime Day generated $24.1 billion in US online spending in 2025 after Amazon extended the event from two days to four. Adobe Analytics suggested the promotion has become one of the company’s most important annual sales drivers.

Amazon said Prime Day 2026 will take place in June across 26 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada and the United States, while members in Australia, Brazil, India and Japan will gain access to Prime Day deals later in the summer.

The retailer is placing greater emphasis on groceries and household essentials as it expands same-day and next-day delivery services. Amazon hopes shoppers will stock up on food and everyday items for World Cup gatherings and holiday celebrations, reflecting the company’s broader push to increase grocery purchases through its Prime membership programme.

Ghani told Reuters that grocery products are expected to account for a growing share of Amazon’s deliveries in future. “As groceries and household essentials grow as a part of our business overall ... it'll grow as a percent of the total units that we ship,” he said.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 and said last year's event delivered record sales, with customers saving billions of dollars across more than 35 product categories.



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