Amazon is now the largest retailer in the world outside of China, and it has built that empire on a few key features.
But what are business days for Amazon? That can mean different things to different companies, so let me clarify how this retail giant operates. If you’re interested in finding out the answer, keep on reading!
What Are Business Days For Amazon In [currentyear]?
Business days relating to shipping for Amazon run Monday through Friday, like a typical work week in [currentyear]. Customers who place orders with Prime two-day shipping should not expect Saturday or Sunday to count as a business day unless Amazon indicates otherwise. Amazon warehouses are, however, operational seven days a week.
Let’s get more into detail about what Amazon’s hours of operation are. If you’re curious to find out, keep reading!
Does Amazon Prime 2-Day Shipping Include Weekends?
According to Amazon’s own page devoted to Shipping Times to the Contiguous U.S., “In many areas, Saturday and Sunday delivery may be available.”
However, it goes on to note that “If weekend delivery is available to your destination, it will be specified on the product page and/or during checkout.”
Basically, Amazon may count Saturday and Sunday as business days, depending on several factors (namely, your location), but the company makes no guarantees.
Their page further reads,
“Delivery estimates for FREE Prime Two-Day shipments to destinations that don’t have weekend delivery are based on two business day transit times, not including Saturday or Sunday.”
One noticeable thing, too, is that different products have different delivery times despite the Prime stamp.
However, this could have something to do with what warehouse the item is in and its proximity to you, the destination.
As ever, the best way to see if Saturday and Sunday will count as business days for any particular item on Amazon is to visit the product page and look at the shipping info.
If it doesn’t give an estimated delivery date on the product page, add it to your shopping cart and progress almost to the end of checkout (without actually buying the item).
At the checkout, the item will show its delivery date with Prime.
Does Amazon Work On Saturday And Sunday?
Despite weekends not always being counted as delivery days (depending on the item or your location), Amazon the company is seemingly always churning away.
Warehouses are open and operating every day of the week, with most warehouse employees working four days a week on shifts of various lengths – sometimes as much as 10 to 12 hours.
So while Amazon might not always count Saturdays and Sundays as business days (regarding delivery, anyway), there are still employees in the warehouses working.
Does Amazon Deliver Earlier Than Estimated?
Amazon delivers earlier than estimated on occasion, and it keeps its customers updated through the order page on the Amazon website or app.
Amazon might estimate its delivery for something with a bit of grace period for themselves, just in case of delays.
It is those times – which you, the customer, are unlikely to recognize – when Amazon packages tend to arrive earlier than estimated.
Is Amazon Prime No Longer offering 2-Day Shipping?
Amazon Prime still offers its customers two-day shipping, though it was slowed down for a time in 2020.
When the COVID-19 virus began spreading rapidly around the U.S., Amazon (and many other companies) opted to prioritize the orders that contained essential goods.
This meant slowing down non-essential orders, despite the Prime shipping.
So shipments that would normally have taken two days or two business days could take much longer, sometimes as much as a month.
Happily, things returned to normal by the following year, and two-day Prime shipping is back on schedule.
Is Amazon Prime Shipping Guaranteed?
In some cases – and you must pay attention at checkout – Amazon Prime two-day shipping is guaranteed. But there’s a catch.
The “two-day” ticker starts from the date the item is shipped, not the date it was ordered.
So if you place an order with a two-day delivery guarantee, it could take four or five days, depending on when the item actually leaves the warehouse.
And in other cases, your delivery isn’t guaranteed at all; instead, the date you see is the “estimated” arrival date, and there is no penalty to Amazon if it’s late.
However – in the same vein as Amazon’s generous return policies, Amazon wants its customers to be happy.
So you could reach out to them and express that you are displeased because an item you were looking forward to on one date was pushed back to another.
And it will likely offer you some form of compensation, like a percentage off your order.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on when does Amazon have sales, what is Amazon Prime shipping, and does Amazon offers overnight shipping.
Conclusion
Whether or not Amazon considers the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, as business days when calculating your package’s arrival depends on location, both yours and Amazon’s.
However, employees are working in Amazon warehouses 7 days a week allowing for around-the-clock availability to shop and order packages.
