Amazon is touting preparations for Prime Day 2025 and a new partnership with luxury retailer Saks, amid reports that sellers are bowing out of Prime Day due to tariffs and pressure from the White House to halt a plan to list tariff changes in product pricing on the site.
The White House slammed Amazon on Tuesday for a plan to incorporate the cost of tariffs on items subject to new duties. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the move a “hostile and political act,” according to reports. In the meantime, amid reports that President Trump called Amazon chief Jeff Bezos about the matter, Amazon countered that it was not planning to add any such notification. Amazon said a tariff-cost listing came under discussion regarding the company’s Haul operation, which was developed to counter low-price China-based retailers such as Temu and Shein; however, Amazon is taking no such action.
In a statement, Amazon asserted, “The team that runs our ultra-low-cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen.“
Meanwhile, Amazon announced Prime Day is coming in July and preparations are progressing well despite reports of third-party sellers pulling back products for the promotion because of tariffs. Amazon didn’t announce the specific Prime Day dates.
A story on the Reuters news service indicated some third-party merchants who have been selling made-in-China products during previous Prime Day events weren’t planning to offer discounts as part of this year’s promotion or were reducing the amount of bargain merchandise they would offer.
Amazon responded to a HomePage News query about the report, stating:
We’re pleased by the strong response from selling partners to Prime Day 2025 and look forward to bringing customers discounts across a wide selection of products. As always, Amazon continues to focus on providing customers consistently the lowest prices as well as fantastic extra savings during our deal events across the widest selection of products, with fast, reliable delivery. We’re working with our broad, varied range of valued selling partners in our store to support them in adapting to the developing environment while maintaining low prices for customers.
Prime members will be able to tap deep discounts during Prime Day across more than 35 product categories, including kitchen, beauty and apparel, and they can also get a jump on Back-to-School shopping, according to Amazon.
Amazon added that the company is working hard around the world to find the hottest deals from new brands and to line up exclusive products for the promotion. Prime Day 2024 generated record sales and greater item movement than its predecessors, Amazon maintained. Third-party sellers, who account for more than 60% of Amazon’s retail sales, sold approximately 200 million items during the 2024 Prime Day event, the company reported. Amazon said it delivered more than nine billion items on the same or next day during Prime Day 2024.
Amazon remains focused on evolving its business, announcing it would offer shoppers a luxury Saks storefront, which comes at a time when affluent consumers are expressing more confidence in the economy and are willing to spend money even on nonessentials.
According to the company, a partnership between Amazon Fashion and Saks Fifth Avenue will deliver an assortment of luxury brands. Saks on Amazon, located in Amazon Luxury Stores, will feature, according to Amazon, a refined selection of merchandise curated by Saks Fifth Avenue from labels such as Dolce&Gabbana, Balmain, Etro, Stella McCartney, Giambattista Valli, Erdem, Fear of God, Jason Wu Collection, Rosetta Getty, Johanna Ortiz, Chantecaille and La Prairie.
To support the storefront rollout, Saks and Emmy-award-winning director Max Siedentopf have created an editorial marketing campaign, “Saks Arrives on Amazon,” to promote the thrill and anticipation of receiving luxury items with ease on the retailer’s platform, according to Amazon.
