Amazon announced they’re doubling down on Prime Day.

In July, Prime Day will span four days.

“We’re extending it to four days because our members have told us they just need more time to shop the deals,” Jamil Ghani, Amazon vice president of worldwide prime said in a Reuters article.

It’s the longest Prime Day promotional period ever.

Is this the retail version of Parkinson’s Law (work expands to fill allotted time)? Even a hypothetical “Prime Week” might still leave shoppers clamoring for even more time.

But, if we peel back the layer on this onion, this is simply another pull on the discount lever.

Amazon isn’t alone; retailers from mass market to high street are already pushing into summer sales. As I walk through stores from Madrid to Malaga, the discounting of seasonal inventory is in full swing.

As a former merchant, our goal was full-price sales from April through June, discounting in July to clear room for Fall product lines arriving mid-August. Discounts in June signal soft sales or a miss on inventory.

In our upcoming book, The Material Life, we explore how inventory misses typically start far back in the supply chain. The fashion supply chain is riddled with inefficiencies and complexity, exacerbated by decisions driven by lowest-cost economics.

Brands forecast demand a year in advance, confirming orders six months early to secure favorable costs. Products inevitably hit the market late, missing optimal selling windows and hurting full-price sales. This is very much how John Thorbeck’s “Make 10, Sell 3” model plays out.

Process innovation is essential to combat “Make 10, Sell 3.”

Operational excellence is what will crush overdevelopment and drive profitability without the pressure to sell more.

Retailers can’t blame tariffs or consumer spending behavior on how much inventory they have and must clear out. Summer 2025 product was planned a year ago.

Let things proceed as they are currently and I can already see the headlines:

In July 2031, Amazon launches “Prime Month.” In 2035, “Prime Year!”

Other retailers then follow suit.

And the discounting lever breaks due to overuse.