Technical snags trip up Amazon’s Prime Day

Amazon’s website NEW YORK — ran into some snags quickly Monday on its much-hyped Prime Day, an embarrassment for the tech company on the shopping holiday it created.

Shoppers clicking on many Prime Day links got only an abashed-looking dog with the words, “Uh-oh. Something went wrong on our end.” Many took to social media to complain that they couldn’t order items.

It wasn’t clear how widespread the outage was on one of Amazon’s busiest days of the year, but the hiccups could surely mute sales and send shoppers elsewhere. A company spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email.

Amazon, which recently announced that Prime membership would be getting more expensive, was hoping to lure in shoppers by focusing on new products and having Whole Foods be part of the process.

While Amazon doesn’t disclose sales figures for Prime Day, Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research, had estimates it will generate $3.4 billion in sales worldwide, up from an estimated $2.4 billion last year. Prime Day also lasts six hours longer than last year.

Shoppers, meanwhile, have lots of sales to choose from as other retailers offer promotions to try to take a share of the spending. Chains like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Best Buy, Walmart and Target to roll out their own promotions, said Charlie O’Shea, lead retail analyst at Moody’s.