Yazılar

Amazon Extends Prime Day to Four Days from July 8 to 11

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Amazon.com has announced that its annual Prime Day sales event will be extended to four days this year, running from July 8 through July 11, doubling the two-day length of last year’s event.

Jamil Ghani, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide Prime, explained the extension is a response to member feedback requesting more time to shop the deals.

The longer Prime Day comes amid uncertainty in the U.S. retail market over tariffs affecting prices and product availability. According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. shoppers spent $14.2 billion during Prime Day 2024, marking an 11% increase year-over-year.

Amazon faces stiff competition from other major retailers such as Walmart, Target, and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop, which are all launching early sales events targeting back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers with personal electronics, apparel, and home goods.

To attract younger consumers, Amazon is also offering discounted Prime memberships for customers aged 18 to 24, alongside other benefits. Prime memberships generally cost $14.99 per month or $139 per year.

Amazon Challenges EU’s ‘Very Large Online Platform’ Label, Citing Lack of Systemic Risk

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Amazon has asked Europe’s General Court in Luxembourg to overturn its designation as a “very large online platform” (VLOP) under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The U.S. e-commerce giant argues that it does not pose systemic risks to users that would justify the stricter regulatory requirements imposed by the label.

The DSA, which came into force in 2022, targets large tech companies, requiring those classified as VLOPs to implement enhanced measures to combat illegal and harmful content. These measures include comprehensive risk management, independent auditing, and data sharing with regulators and researchers.

Amazon’s legal counsel, Robert Spano, told the court that online marketplaces like Amazon’s store do not create systemic risks, and that VLOP rules are ineffective in preventing the spread of illegal or counterfeit goods on such platforms. He emphasized that any risks are limited to individual customers rather than the platform’s entire user base, and existing product safety laws already address these issues.

Spano criticized the use of size as a metric for risk, describing it as “arbitrary, disproportionate and discriminatory.”

The court is expected to deliver its verdict in the coming months.

Other major tech companies, including Meta Platforms, TikTok, and German retailer Zalando, have also contested aspects of the DSA.

Talen Energy and Amazon Partner on Nuclear Power Deal to Fuel AWS Data Centers

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U.S. utility Talen Energy announced an expanded partnership with Amazon to supply up to 1,920 megawatts of carbon-free electricity from its Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. The long-term agreement, lasting until 2042, provides Talen with a stable revenue stream while supporting Amazon’s growing energy needs for AI and cloud operations.

Both companies are also exploring the construction of new Small Modular Reactors within Talen’s Pennsylvania footprint and considering expanding the existing nuclear plant’s capacity. This deal comes amid rising U.S. electricity demand for data centers and AI workloads—the first increase in two decades—pushing Big Tech firms to secure reliable and sustainable power sources.

Earlier this month, Constellation Energy reached a similar deal with Meta Platforms to keep an Illinois nuclear reactor operational for 20 more years.

Following the announcement, Talen Energy shares rose nearly 8% in premarket trading.

Kevin Miller, AWS vice president of global data centers, highlighted the investment’s local economic impact, calling it the largest private sector investment in Pennsylvania’s history with $20 billion committed and 1,250 high-skilled jobs created. Miller also emphasized AWS’s commitment to powering its infrastructure with carbon-free energy through this collaboration.