There was a time, not long ago, that Amazon’s Prime Day was the online shopping event of the summer season. Consumer’s no longer needed to wait until Black Friday for sharply discounted products. That, along with the fast growth of e-commerce, made Prime Day a bonanza for shoppers, sellers - and for Amazon.However as we head into what looks like a global recession, this summer consumers might not be as keen to shop. This summer, Prime Day (July 12-13) will face potentially more competition as retailers everywhere look to get rid of excess inventory, something that usually translates into deep discounts and promotions.The event is available to Prime members in 20 countries and has gained popularity outside of the U.S., its biggest market.The two-day savings event includes must-have brands such as Beats, Casper, ELEMIS, Levi’s, iRobot, and SharkNinja; fashion styles from Amazon Essentials and Simple Joys by Carter’s; and Amazon’s lowest prices ever on select products from Sony, Bose, and GE, according to Amazon.However top competitors have launched their own bargain days, often overlapping with Amazon’s Prime Day dates. Walmart and Target have begun holding competing flash sales and with excess inventory to clear this year, discounts are likely to be very attractive.That is likely to make Prime Day discounts look like less of a bargain. In fact, Amazon is said to be reducing the level of discounts offered during the mega sale. Amazon’s sales are projected to reach roughly $7.76 billion in the U.S. from Prime Day, or about 17% more than during last year’s event, according to research firm Insider Intelligence. Amazon doesn’t report Prime Day figures. Average order size totaled $54.15 at last year’s event, compared with an order size of $58.77 two years before, according to research firm Numerator.Even if growth is lower than in previous years, it will be a welcome revenue boost for Amazon, which has seen a post-pandemic plunge in sales.It's Not Just About Merchandise SalesSince Prime Day is exclusively for Prime members, the annual shopping extravaganza not only drives merchandise sales. It also boosts membership in Prime, something worth as much - if not more - than individual product purchase. In fact, many analysts believe that membership growth, not merchandise sales, is the primary goal.Through Prime, Amazon has created a powerful customer base enabling the company to sell a wide range of products and services - outside of those available on its Amazon marketplace. This massive membership gives Amazon the ability to move into new sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, that require huge scale to succeed.If Prime Day continues to generate new Prime members, and helps retain existing members, then it's a win for Amazon - even if merchandise sales are below expectations.At the same time, Amazon takes advantage of Prime Day to promote its private label brands, with the bulk of promotions increasingly centered around Amazon’s devices like Fire TV and Alexa. Early deals started June 21, including 55% off select Amazon devices and up to 50% off Fire TV, according to a notice from Amazon.Doubling UpAmazon has been reported to be planning to hold a second shopping event for Prime members, this one in the fourth quarter, according to a notice viewed by CNBC. It's the first time the company will hold two such events in the same year.The company recently began notifying select third-party merchants of a "Prime Fall" deal event via its internal seller portal, called Seller Central. The notice doesn't announce any dates, but instructs sellers to submit limited-time "lightning deals" by July 22, well in advance of the fourth-quarter event, reported CNBC.