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Amazon’s Prime Day Sale Is Likely to Disappoint Deal-Hungry Shoppers

  • Merchants are holding the line on discounts amid rising costs
  • Annual event is becoming mostly a way to move aging inventory
Boxes and parcels move along conveyors in an Amazon.com Inc. fulfilment center.

Boxes and parcels move along conveyors in an Amazon.com Inc. fulfilment center.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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Bargain hunters are expected to find Amazon.com Inc.’s two-day Prime Day sale underwhelming this year, with many sellers minimizing profit-eating discounts in an era of soaring costs.

The annual event, which runs Tuesday and Wednesday, is becoming just another summer clearance sale designed to make room for new items before the busy holiday shopping season. Amazon is doing its best to sustain interest by touting “millions of deals,” including some of the lowest prices ever on its own signature products, such as $17.99 for an Alexa-powered Echo Dot smart speaker and a 50-inch Amazon Fire television for $99.99.