Amazon to hold mid-October sale to capture more holiday spending

Amazon.com Inc on Sunday announced an expected sale for its loyalty-club shoppers, an event like its Prime Day summer marketing blitz that aims to boost holiday revenue and appeal to cost-conscious buyers facing economic turbulence.

The "Prime Early Access Sale" will start Oct. 11 at midnight Pacific Daylight Time (0700 GMT) for 48 hours in 15 countries, Amazon said.

Vice president Jamil Ghani told Reuters the rationale for a second Amazon deals event this year was earlier holiday shopping and the "macroeconomic environment" customers faced.

"There's a desire to save and make the dollar stretch further," he said in an interview.

Ghani declined to offer revenue forecasts for how the event would compare to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this fall or to July's Prime Day.

Such member-only sales prompt some customers to buy Prime subscriptions and shop more on Amazon.