Business

Amazon Says “Prime Day” Will Be Annual Event

Published

11 years ago

July 17, 2015

Reporter II

(Kris Tripplaar/AP Photo)

Mae Anderson, ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP) — Amazon says its “Prime Day” sale led to a sales surge and “hundreds of thousands” of new signups for its $99 annual Prime loyalty program. The company said it plans to make the sale an annual event.

Tied to its 20th anniversary, Amazon promoted Wednesday’s sale for weeks by saying there would be more deals than during the busy winter holiday shopping season. Some shoppers took to social media and elsewhere to complain about the types of sales they were seeing and their limited nature.

Nonetheless, Amazon said Thursday that in the U.S. and nine countries around the world that offer the Prime program, shoppers ordered 398 items per second, surpassing the rate of ordering on Black Friday, the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving. It said worldwide order growth more than quadrupled over the same day last year, which is typically a sluggish sales day, and rose 18 percent more than Black Friday 2014.

“Going into this, we weren’t sure whether Prime Day would be a one-time thing or if it would become an annual event,” said Greg Greeley, Amazon Prime vice president. “After yesterday’s results, we’ll definitely be doing this again.”

In the U.S., TVs, Bose headphones, Rubbermaid storage sets, pressure cookers, Roomba vacuum cleaning robots, the unrated Blu-ray version of “50 Shades of Grey” and Megular microfiber towels were top sellers. Abroad, a Blu-ray trilogy of “Lord of the Rings” and a Lenovo notebook computer were popular.

ChannelAdvisor, which tracks sales by third-party sellers on Amazon, said sales jumped 93 percent on Wednesday compared with a year ago in the U.S. and rose 53 percent in Europe. It said sellers achieved 97 percent of the total amount of sales generated on Black Friday and 60 percent of the sales volume on Cyber Monday.

The sale spurred other retailers to try “Christmas in July”-type sales as well, most notably Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The world’s largest retailer, which discounted about 2,000 items on Wednesday, said that the last three days have been some of its best ever for online orders, but did not give specifics. It noted that Wednesday was the highest day of the year for same-day pickup at its stores, with orders increasing triple digits over the same day last year. That service allows shoppers to order online and then pick their purchases up at the store the same day. Among the top-selling items Wednesday were an Apple iPad Air 2 for $399.99 and $12.35 for Anna and Kristoff dolls from Disney’s “Frozen.”

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. rose $14.29, or 3.1 percent, to close at $475.48 on Thursday. They have risen more than 33 percent over the past year.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 22, 2026

Oakland Post

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Advice

Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC