Amazon has announced that its Prime Day 2020 shopping event will take place on October 13 and 14, having been delayed from its usual summer date due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The event kicks off at midnight PT on the 13th and runs through the 14th. The two-day event will include discounts on a huge range of items across many of Amazon's departments, including toys, electronics, fashion, beauty, kitchen, home, and Amazon's own Echo and Fire TV devices.

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For 2020, and in a bid to help out small businesses who have suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon is focusing more on smaller retailers this Prime Day. The company says it is investing $100M throughout the holiday season on new promotional activities to help small businesses worldwide.

Amazon is also running an offer where Prime members will be given $10 credit to spend on Prime day, as long as they spend $10 or more on items sold by select small businesses on Amazon between now and October 12.

"In the midst of an unprecedented year, we're committed to making this the most successful Prime Day ever for our small businesses and excited for Prime members worldwide to discover new ways to support local entrepreneurs and save big on everything they need and love," said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer.

The Echo Dot is now just $40 for two Amazon

Details on specific deals are sparse for now, but Amazon has said Prime members will be able to buy two third-generation Echo Dot smart speakers for $39.98, instead of the usual $99.98, and the Fire TV Recast for $129.99, down from its usual price of $229.99. These two deals are available now as part of Amazon's Early Prime Day Deals.

Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart speaker with Alexa - Sandstone

List Price: $39.99

New From: $39.99in Stock

Used From: $35.19in Stock

Amazon Prime Day 2020 deals and discounts: What we know so far

Amazon has already announced some deals ahead of Prime Day 2020. These include money off its own Echo and Fire TV devices, as well as discounts on a range of Fire TV Edition televisions. There's also money off Amazon Music Unlimited, and discounts on Amazon-owned Blink smart home security cameras.

Prime members who haven't yet tried Amazon Music Unlimited can get four months of the premium, ad-free service for $0.99. Prime members can also save $50 on a year of Audible Premium Plus membership, and customers new to Kindle Unlimited can save 50 percent on a six-month subscription.

Further Kindle deals include a $5 ebook credit when $20 is spent on ebooks, plus Prime members can choose to new select Kindle books for free.

There's also a deal that gives Prime members $15 off their first Amazon Fresh food order, so long as it is of $50 or more, plus further offers throughout the grocery store. Prime members also get up to 50 percent off select titles to rent or buy through Prime Video, between now and through Prime Day itself.

Where does Prime Day take place?

Prime Day 2020 is taking place in the following countries:

US, UK, UAE, Spain, Singapore, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Australia, and – participating for the first time this year – Turkey and Brazil.

All-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | Dolby Atmos audio | 2020 release

All-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | Dolby Atmos audio | 2020 release

List Price: $39.99

New From: $39.99in Stock