Amazon Adds More Black Friday Deals

Amazon’s Black Friday shopping event will span two days this month and include more deals across categories, as the online behemoth also sought to assure customers that they can rely on fast deliveries through the holiday season.

Starting Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, customers can take advantage of deep discounts that include kitchen and home items as well as beauty, fashion and grocery products. In addition to its internal gift guides, Amazon has brought back links to the Oprah’s Favorite Things list that spans a variety of Oprah Winfrey’s recommended gifts for 2021, including food and consumable items such as hot sauces, English muffins, honey, a latte-making kit and more. Amazon users can get a 20% discount on those products through Dec. 31.

While Amazon highlights its Black Friday deals, the company will also host a livestream on Black Friday. The online event will feature experts and influencers doing product demos and “live hauls” and include a live chat option for consumers with questions, concerns or requests.

As more people travel for in-person celebrations this year, Amazon is touting its many delivery options, including package pickup points in 900 communities across the United States. Those stations include co-located sites such as Whole Food Market, 7-11, Rite-Aid and others.

To meet demand and assuage consumer concerns about product availability and delivery timing, Amazon is also working on hiring an additional 125,000 full and part-time workers and 150,000 seasonal workers with the incentives of sign-on bonuses and an average starting pay of $18 and hour.

Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods, is No. 26 on PG's list.