Amazon confirmed that Prime Day will take place over 48 hours on Oct. 13 and 14. The e-retailer postponed the original Prime Day, typically held in July, due to the pandemic.

More:

• Amazon has introduced several early Prime Day deals, including a small business promotion (see below).
• It's the latest date for a Prime Day and the first time it's occurred in Q4. Amazon Prime VP Jamil Ghani said the company believes this year's event will be "bigger than it has ever been."
• Sales during Prime Day typically surpass Black Friday sales. For example, last year's sales over two days were higher than those from Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2018 combined.
• The number of Prime members has grown from 2 million in 2009 to 150 million in 2020.
• Prime Day takes place in the U.S. as well as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and the U.K. India's Prime Day took place Aug. 6-7.

Early Prime Day deals:

• Small business promotion: Prime members who spend $10 on items sold by certain Amazon small businesses will receive a $10 credit to use on Prime Day. The offer, which runs through Oct. 12, is part of Amazon's $100m commitment to support small businesses this year...

Amazon launched multiple products in its hardware event last week, including a drone, smart speakers, and a gaming service. The company’s new cloud gaming service Luna is priced at $5.99 in its early access phase.

More:

• Amazon announced a new spherical Echo ($99), Echo Dot ($49.99), and an Echo Dot with a clock ($59.99). As of January 2020, Amazon had a market share of 53% in the smart speakers market, down from 61% in January 2019. Google’s market share increased from 23.9% to 31% in the same time period.
• The company launched Echo Show 10, a smart screen with a motorized base to automatically face the user as they move around a room. The company also added Netflix to the list of available streaming options in Echo 10. 
• Amazon launched a controller for its cloud gaming service Luna, with an introductory price of $49.99. Luna is set to compete with other cloud gaming platforms, including Google’s Stadia, Microsoft’s xCloud, Apple’s Arcade, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now. Though Apple doesn’t allow Stadia and xCloud in its current form, Luna is available in Apple’s platforms as it was released as a Progressive Web App, which has a home screen icon and can be launched through a web browser. Apple doesn't take a revenue cut of 30% from the web apps.
• Always Home Cam, an autonomous security drone, will cost $249.99 and be available in 2021. 
• The company also announced a new car camera and car alarm. An API will be made available next year to allow car manufacturers to connect their car cameras to Ring’s platform.

This story first appeared in Inside Business. You can read the full issue here.

Ring is also rolling out a series of connected security products for cars, including one for Tesla owners. This comes as the Amazon-backed company debuted a series of new products at Amazon’s 2020 devices event. The devices will be available in 2021.

More:

• Ring Car Connect, retailing at $199.99, is compatible with Tesla’s Model S, 3, X, and Y and allows Tesla owners to receive alerts, watch and store “Sentry Mode” video on the Ring app.
• Ring Car Cam, retailing for $199.99, is an interior dashcam that can record video and alert owners when there is movement inside their vehicles. Unlike Ring’s other products, it does not require a monthly subscription.
• Ring Car Alarm, retailing at $59.99, plugs into the vehicle’s OBD port and sends a text message if a car is moving, hit, or broken into.
• The Car Cam has a feature that automatically starts recording video when a user says, “Alexa, I'm being pulled over.” It can also notify a trusted contact that you have been pulled over.

A version of this story first appeared in Inside Electric Vehicles.

Some Whole Foods employees say their stores are being overrun by Amazon Prime shoppers, who are ignoring social distancing rules and making their jobs more difficult. A Business Insider report describes the difficulties that some workers face as customers turn more to online ordering and pick up their groceries in-store or have them delivered by Prime drivers.

More:

• Business Insider interviewed seven Whole Foods employees who said they are understaffed and can't keep shelves stocked quickly enough. One manager called Prime delivery drivers, who pick up the grocery orders, "vultures" who "come in and pick every department clean."
• At at least one store, workers have had to pack and store groceries in a parking garage next door to keep up with demand.
• Items are selling out of stock quickly, which requires a Whole Foods employee to provide QR codes to the shopper, taking time out of their day. As one Whole Foods employee said: "I'm trying to do my job, and I have to stop every five minutes to help a Prime shopper and then have them scan my QR code."
• A Whole Foods representative said the company continues to evaluate how to tackle challenges and "work more efficiently" as the demand for online grocery delivery has grown dramatically this year. In its Q2 2020 earnings report, Amazon reported that online grocery sales had tripled year-over-year.
• Earlier this month, Amazon opened its first permanent online-only Whole Foods store, which is closed to the public, to fulfill grocery orders in Brooklyn.

Amazon plans to house up to 8,000 employees at its future office space in Vancouver, Canada The company initially said it would hire 3,000 workers for the site, which is being redeveloped and is expected to open in 2023. It now says it will house 6,000 to 8,000 workers there, according to multiple reports.

More:

• In addition to the Vancouver positions, Amazon plans to add 500 jobs in Toronto.
• Reports note that Canada is likely attractive given its closeness to Seattle, educated workforce, lower wages, and pro-immigration policies.
• Amazon already has more than 2,500 employees in Vancouver, which it had considered for its HQ2 in 2017. The company says it's invested more than $11b, including employee salaries and infrastructure, in Canada over the last decade.
• A new report has accused Amazon of providing mostly "low-quality jobs" during the pandemic. It notes that many of the jobs used zero-hour contracts, which don't require minimum work hours.

Filming for Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series has resumed in New Zealand. Production on the $1b TV series shut down temporarily in mid-March but recently received an exemption by New Zealand's government to continue filming. It's set to premiere sometime in 2021.

More:

• The series' first two episodes, directed by J.A. Bayona, are mostly filmed. The production team planned to take a 4-5 month hiatus after these episodes to script season 2, which they've been able to accomplish.
• The adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels explores storylines before "The Fellowship of the Ring."
• Amazon has already renewed the series for a second season, with five seasons planned overall. It stars Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Bonladi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Cordova, and others.

QUICK HITS

• Online shopping marketplace DoneGood is hosting its Better Days event now through Wednesday in what it calls a "sustainable alternative to Amazon Prime Day."
• Amazon says customers who pre-ordered the PS5 and the Xbox Series X that they may not receive their consoles on launch day due to high demand.
• Toni Reid, VP of Alexa Experience & Echo Devices at Amazon, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about consumer habits during the pandemic and other related topics.
• TechCrunch reports that anyone can access a web portal that law enforcement uses to request Amazon customer data.
• Illumina will acquire cancer screening startup Grail in an $8b deal, buying out Jeff Bezos and other investors.
• Learn how to achieve powerful results from SMS—like 25x+ ROI—with 6 SMS marketing campaigns from leading brands.*

*This is sponsored content.

We're hiring! Check out our available positions:

• Business Researcher
• Director of Research
• Growth Marketing Manager
• Sales Representative
• Copy Editor

Tweet of the Day: Nigerian actress and basketball star Yinka Olorunnife has a new Amazon Music commercial.