Amazon Prime Day will be a two-day event running on June 21 and 22

• Amazon Prime Day starts at midnight PDT (3am ET) on June 21, and runs through June 22.
• Amazon's two-day shopping extravaganza will offer more than 2 million deals globally, it said.
• Rivals Walmart and Target are expected to launch their own competing discount shopping days.

Amazon confirmed Wednesday that its annual shopping bonanza, Amazon Prime Day, will be spread across two days this year, on June 21 and 22.

The e-commerce giant said customers could shop more than 2 million deals across each category on its site, including fashion, home, and gaming. The event starts at midnight PDT (3am ET) on June 21, and runs through June 22.

Amazon Prime Day launched in 2015 and has become one of the company's busiest shopping days of the year. It typically takes place in mid-July, but in 2020 was pushed back to October because of the pandemic, which had put extra strain on Amazon's supply chain.

Amazon said that its 2020 holiday shopping period, covering Prime Day, November, and December, was its busiest period on record.

Amazon's annual shopping holiday can also be lucrative for its rivals - including Walmart and Target - who offer their own competing deals. Analysts have called the day "Black Friday in July."

In a statement Wednesday, Amazon said it would promote small businesses on Prime Day by giving people $10 credit if they spend $10 on items from these sellers.

Amazon's third-party marketplace is a booming part of its business, accounting for 58% of sales in 2020. But its treatment of these businesses, and its role as both a direct seller and a platform for other merchants, has caused controversy. Amazon was previously called out for using data from its top sellers to create its own private label products, for example.