Christmas in July? Amazon’s ‘Prime Day’ is back

SEATTLE – Amazon’s “Prime Day” has returned for a second year with the online retail giant promising twice as many deals as last year.

The company launched the event last July in an effort to promote its $99 annual Prime loyalty program, which offers free two-day shipping and other perks. Some of the big discounts are on large screen TVs and Amazon devices like its Echo, Kindle and Fire TV products.

Consumers may be hoping for better deals than last year, when (hash)PrimeDayFail became a trending topic amid complaints that the products offered were unimpressive and the best items were quickly out of stock.

Retailers are countering Amazon with deals of their own. Wal-Mart has cut prices throughout the month on a host of products online.