How Amazon is gearing up for Prime Day sale amid the covid crisis

Amazon.com Inc. will kick off its first Prime Day since the coronavirus outbreak later this week in India, modifying almost everything about the retail bonanza to navigate the realities of a new era.

Prime Day will have the customary deep discounts, hundreds of exclusive products, new launches and cashback offers. But in a profound departure from the past, the global retailer will have a virtual operations room instead of a real one, with thousands of employees coordinating the sale from their homes, and stringent hygiene protocols for its armies of packers, sorters and deliverymen.

India is a test case for the e-commerce pioneer and founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person. The U.S. version of Prime Day has been postponed from its usual spot in July, with the new date yet to be announced.