As a consumer, you will likely notice while there are holidays on the calendar, the events around the holidays slow begin to lengthen. The preparation that used to be a few days before can be moved to weeks or what is the next holiday. The notion is holidays means many work activities shutdown and people are paid, so what will they do? Often times they go to entertainment and shopping places to spend their holiday money, which is why the US economy runs on consumer spending.

In an article by Anne D’Innocenzio of the Associated Press, Amazon is trying to do the same thing by extending its special days. If you shop online, one of the costs is shipping. To combat that Amazon (and others) have a membership Amazon Prime which includes free shipping. Over the years Amazon has added other features to the membership, but free shipping is the biggest feature.

For the past 11 years, Amazon has Prime Days where you can save money on your spending or discounts. This year the company is offering new membership perks to Gen Z shoppers and increased the number of days to 4.

The retail world is very competitive and will match what their competitors are doing so Best Buy, Target and Walmart are having sales at the same time.

Amazon Prime VP amil Ghani, recently told the Associated Press, that shoppers want more time to shop and save.

Analysts are unsure the extra days will translate into more purchases.

While Amazon does not disclose Prime Day sales figures, but said last year had record global sales. Adobe Digital Insights predict the sales event will drive $23.8 billion in overall spending from July 8 to July 11, which is 24.8% more than the similar period last year.

Typically July spending is down, but this year analysts expect sales to be up because tariffs will increase prices for back-to-school spending season.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every industry has a time when it tends to be busier than others and they would like sales to increase. In the consumer area, what will it take to loosen the purse strings in your wallet? for you to buy? It is a never-ending question, and millions of dollars are spent trying to find the answer. Depending on your investments, you can ask the same questions when is the best quarter? did the company meet expectations or beat them? do you want to hold or look for alternatives?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.