Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, has become a major event for shoppers since retailers offer great discounts and promos to customers on that infamous day. Amazon is now starting a new shopping phenomenon on July 15, showcasing more deals than the ones the online retailer usually offers on Black Friday.

On Monday, July 6, Amazon announced that on its 20th anniversary, the company will introduce "Prime Day," which will offer great deals to Amazon Prime members in the UK, U.S., Canada, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.

"On Wednesday, July 15, new and existing members in the U.S. will find deals starting at midnight, with new deals starting as often as every ten minutes. They can shop thousands of Lightning Deals, seven popular Deals of the Day and receive unlimited fast, free shipping," stated Amazon.

Competition in the e-commerce industry is rapidly growing, and companies like Amazon want a major chunk of the business. In 2005, Amazon announced the Prime service where it offered members a free two-day delivery service and discounted one-day shipping rates on eligible purchase and in specific zip codes. Prime members had to pay an annual fee of $79, which has now increased to $99.

Prime customers were required to pay $5.99 for the same-day delivery service in the U.S. but in May, Amazon eliminated the fees, which made Prime even more popular. That same month, the retailer also expanded the service to two new metro areas in the U.S. Prime now covers about 500 cities and towns across the country.

The introduction of Prime Day may attract more customers to Amazon's Prime service. The annual fees do not only offer convenience to customers, but Prime members also get free cloud storage and access to an extensive video library. Prime Day may be another reason why shoppers may enrol for the Prime service.

Prime Day deals will be available to Prime members only. The offers cover a wide range of categories, namely outdoor items, toys, electronics, sports equipment, clothing, movies and more.

This year, shoppers can enjoy Amazon Prime Day; however, the retailer has not revealed if the event will become an annual affair.

To get more information on Prime Day and to sign up for a free-30-day trial for Prime, shoppers can visit the company's official website.