Two-day shipping soon will be too late. Shoppers have run out of time. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is taking a final stab at sales with “Last Minute Deal” programs:

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but we’ve still got the deals going here at Amazon. You’ll find all our top holiday deals right here so you can get great gifts at amazing prices. Some deals are in limited supply, but don’t worry if you miss one because we have hundreds of deals each day.

Amazon is trying to take low inventories out of the equation. And, for desperate shoppers, it may work. It is an appeal that would not have been effective a few days ago. As far as gifts go, something is better than nothing.

Some offers still have an Amazon hallmark, which is its “Deal of the Day.” The marketing method is not unique, but it does mesh with the appeal to people who have run out of time. Shop at the last moment and save money.

Another advantage for Amazon is that last-minute deals allow it to push the inventory of its own products. Among the most prominently featured items are the Kindle, Fire Tablet and Fire HD Tablet. Some carry discounts as high as 20%.

The last-minute deals area also is a means to push the Prime service. The deals are a conduit to market the Amazon credit card as well. Each of these are, based on most evaluations, are ways for Amazon to make additional money. The Amazon Prime Card comes with no interest charge for six months. After that the “standard variable purchase APR is 26.24%.”

Even if people do not elect to get the credit card, Prime is Amazon’s anchor program to maintain customer loyalty. Feedvisor’s Amazon User Study 2016 showed that a third of Prime members shop at Amazon once a week.

Last-minute deals and several ways for Amazon to make more money.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.