Amazon to hold ‘Prime Day’ shopping sale in the UAE next month

Amazon has announced that its global shopping sale for Prime members will be held in the UAE for the first time in July.

Prime Day starts at midnight on Monday, July 15 and will run for 48 hours this year, a statement said.

Subscription service Amazon Prime became available in the UAE on June 11, following the official launch of Amazon.ae in the country last month.

Prime, Amazon’s paid membership programme, offers shopping benefits such as discounts as well as access to entertainment options.

In the UAE, it costs users Dhs16 per month, or Dhs140 for an annual membership.

Prime Day will offer more than one million deals to members in the US, UK, Spain, Singapore, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria and Australia.

“Our vision is that Prime Day should be the absolute best time to be a member – when you can enjoy shopping, savings, entertainment and some of the best deals Prime members have ever seen,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer.

UAE-based Souq.com relaunched as Amazon.ae in the country on May 1, following Souq’s acquisition by the global e-commerce platform in 2017 for an estimated $650m.

Read: Souq relaunches as Amazon.ae in the UAE

In the UAE, Prime members will have free next day delivery across the country with no minimum purchase, while a 50 per cent discount on same day delivery will be offered in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al-Ain and Ajman.

Domestic Prime-eligible products will come from 30 categories, including fashion, electronics, books, toys, consumables, and beauty.

Prime members will also enjoy free delivery in six to nine business days for international orders over Dhs100 on eligible products shipped from Amazon US.

In terms of Amazon Prime Video, members can stream or download Amazon Originals like The Grand Tour, and All or Nothing: Manchester City, and Indian hit shows like Mirzapur and Breathe.

Under Twitch Prime, members will have access to in-game loot for some of the world’s biggest games, free games, a free monthly Twitch channel subscription, an expanded set of chat emotes and colours and an exclusive chat badge.

Members will also have exclusive access to special deals as well as access to shop on Prime Day, Amazon’s global shopping event exclusively for Prime members.

Amazon Prime currently has more than 100 million paid members in 17 countries.

Also read: With Amazon now in the UAE, what does it mean for local retailers?