It's Christmas in July for Amazon. 
 
 Black Friday, the legendary shopping day that follows Thanksgiving, is more than four months way. But that hasn't stopped Amazon from declaring a new sort of Black Friday on July 15: An online birthday shopaganza called "Prime Day." 
 
 "Step aside Black Friday, meet Prime Day," Amazon announced on Monday, promising the day would be "filled with more deals than Black Friday." 
 
 The company said that on July 15th, the day before it turns 20 years old, Prime members "will find deals starting at midnight, with new deals starting as often as every ten minutes." 
 
 Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) is also offering free 30-day Prime memberships for non-members who want to take advantage of the one-day deal. Amazon Prime normally costs $99 per year and includes free shipping. 
 
 The company has been expanding its Prime service and recently started same-day shipping for members. ||||| Black Friday, the annual shopping extravaganza which brought in more than $1.5 billion in online sales alone last November, is arguably the single most important day for retailers in the U.S. Now Amazon wants to steal its thunder with Prime Day. 
 
 The e-commerce giant announced that it will mark its 20th anniversary on July 15 with deals for subscribers of its Prime shopping program in nine countries (the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Austria). 
 
 In a press release, Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime, claims “Prime Day is a one-day only event filled with more deals than Black Friday,” but the company did not specify if that means Amazon will offer more deals on July 15 than it did during Black Friday, if the value of the deals will be worth more, or if it hopes Prime Day eventually trumps Black Friday as each year’s main celebration of consumerism (TechCrunch has emailed Amazon for more information). 
 
 The latter proposition is not as outlandish as it might seem because of Amazon’s huge influence on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have included reducing prices on about 80 million products during the event and extending sales into the week leading up to Thanksgiving, putting more pressure on both online and brick-and-mortar competitors. 
 
 Amazon isn’t just launching Prime Day because it’s in a celebratory mood. Amazon Prime was instrumental in helping the company turn a profit of $214 million in 4Q2014, a quick and dramatic reversal from the larger-than-expected loss it reported in the previous quarter. This was due mainly to an increase in subscription charges for Prime. 
 
 After an initial pouring of discontent, the hike was accepted by most consumers, while Amazon has tacked on several new services, including the Dash Button and instant delivery. Prime Day may help convince more consumers to pay the $99 annual fee (or at least sign up for the one-month trial).
– Black Friday is so 2014. That's the gist of Amazon's announcement of Prime Day, a "global shopping event, offering more deals than Black Friday" only to Prime members to celebrate its 20th anniversary next week, reports CNNMoney. "Step Aside Black Friday—Meet Prime Day" is the header of today's gently trash-talking press release, deeming July 15 the day when new and existing members in the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada, and Austria will be able to take advantage of said deals starting at midnight, with new bargains popping up as often as every 10 minutes. "Members tell us every day how much they love Prime and we will keep making it better," the VP of Amazon Prime promises. TechCrunch notes that Amazon's swagger doesn't specify if by "more deals than Black Friday" it means if there will be more deals quantity-wise, if the value of the deals will surpass that of the day after Thanksgiving, or "if it hopes Prime Day eventually trumps Black Friday as each year's main celebration of consumerism." The site adds, though, that Amazon has definitely had a significant effect on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday by reducing prices on 80 million or so of its products (which, subsequently, put more pressure on competitors). If you're not a Prime member and aren't sure yet if you want to cough up the $99 yearly membership, the company is offering a free 30-day trial so you can take part in Prime Day. The big question: Is this a one-off, or is Amazon planning on celebrating Prime Day every year? A spokeswoman says the company "doesn't have any future plans to share" that information, per CNET. (Amazon is still trying to give flight to its drones plan.)