Amazon teases Black Friday plans
We'll come out and say it: Amazon is great for many聽things, but the online retail giant聽doesn't have the best track record when it comes to Black Friday and聽"better than Black Friday" sales.
Take Prime Day, Amazon's annual anniversary sale, which聽was introduced to much fanfare in July 2015,聽聽-- two years in a row.聽With lackluster discounts on things you'd never buy (anyone want $50 worth of paperclips for $45??), and doorbuster deals that disappear within seconds of their release,聽.
Prime Day is always billed as being "better than Black Friday!"聽But this isn't a high bar to pass, because Amazon's Black Friday sale is historically confusing, convoluted, and difficult聽for even the savviest shoppers to navigate. From the looks of聽, it's not gonna get much better in 2016.
鈥淐ustomers love discovering the best deals on the most sought-after products, and our聽Black Friday Deals Store聽and curated Holiday Gift Guides offer them a place to do just that 鈥� plus enjoy the most convenient shopping experience with tons of super-fast shipping options,鈥� said聽Doug Herrington, Senior Vice President of North American Retail at聽Amazon in yesterday's press release. 鈥淭his holiday season, we鈥檙e offering more deals than ever before."
The details revealed in this vague announcement aren't exactly groundbreaking. Amazon will be running the聽聽from now until December 22nd, posting new deals "as often as every five minutes" throughout the duration of this period. While this might seem like an exciting development, a quick glance at the current offerings on the Black Friday Deals Store leaves much to be desired. As much as we've always dreamed of聽, we'll pass on most of today's "doorbuster" deals.
Don't get us wrong: Amazon's ACTUAL Black Friday offerings WILL聽be better than what's currently on this page. They聽will match prices on doorbuster deals from competitors like Target, Walmart and Best Buy, and there will be steals to be had, if you can get there fast enough to snatch 'em up. However, the deals Amazon is putting out leading up to the big day aren't much of anything.
What else is in the press release?
- An announcement concerning the聽launch of category gift guides, including the聽, the聽聽and the聽.
- A plug for the Amazon app, which lets you shop on the go, but for some reason still doesn't allow you to purchase Kindle titles from your phone(??).
- A reminder to sign up for Amazon Prime so you can get early access to all their Black Friday deals AND order things using your voice via Alexa, Amazon's Siri. The future is here, people.
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