Amazon Prime Day Offers Big Deals for Fast-Acting Customers

For the third consecutive year, Amazon is holding its Prime Day July 11. The 30-hour event is the biggest shopping day of the year for Amazon and offers special deals on tens of thousands of products, giving shoppers access to Black Friday-like prices in midsummer. But there is a catch: The sale is for Amazon Prime members who pay a $99 subscription fee. Prime customers shopping July 11 will get access to new deals every five minutes, a big television sale, special prices for smart-home devices and more. But while Amazon’s Prime Day 2017 once again promises great opportunities for customers to walk away with deals, like any other sale, there are some caveats and requirements those folks need to understand before shopping. This slide show covers what shoppers should know about Amazon Prime Day.  

Technically, Amazon Prime Day is July 11. However, Amazon announced last month that it would extend the day to 30 hours. So Prime Day actually starts at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday, July 10. It will end at 12 a.m. PDT on July 12.

Amazon Prime Day is not for just anyone who heads over to Amazon.com looking for deals. Amazon makes the deals available only to those with a Prime membership. Prime members pay $99 per year for access to free two-day shipping, as well as Amazon’s streaming video service, free eBooks and other perks.

Amazon has expanded Prime Day to 13 countries around the world. The deals will be available in the U.S., of course, but they also will be available to shoppers across Europe. Amazon is also offering Prime Day deals in Mexico, Japan, India and China.

Amazon noted that among a host of deals on products will be those offered by small businesses and entrepreneurs. In fact, the company says “thousands” of small retailers will be offering deals to celebrate Prime Day.

Lightning Deals have been a popular way for Amazon shoppers to find some nice sales and the company won’t ignore them during Prime Day. Amazon says it will be offering “new deals as often as every five minutes” throughout the day. Many of those deals likely will be available only for a certain time or until stock runs out

To boost the use of its various smart devices, Amazon says owners of the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Amazon Tap and a compatible Fire TV or Fire tablet will have access to exclusive deals. Those deals will be available by asking Alexa for offers. The virtual assistant will then feed those offers to customers.

Similarly, Amazon says its smartphone app will allow for “early deal watching in every country” Prime Day is being held. Users can preview deals before Amazon.com visitors can and get deal alerts to take advantage of offers quickly.

Those hoping to buy a new television sometime soon might want to turn to Amazon. The company says Prime Day will offer big deals on a “record level” of television inventory on the site. Amazon also says those televisions could sell out quickly.

To help customers find deals quickly, Amazon will use what it calls a “themed approach.” The company has found more than 20 product “themes” that customers most often shop on its site. When Prime Day kicks off, Amazon will list those themes on its home page, providing easy access to sales within each product category.

The company will be offering big deals on its smart-home devices, including the Amazon Echo, which will get a 50 percent discount during the event. Amazon also is offering specials on its digital services, including access to Amazon Music Unlimited for 99 cents and a 40 percent discount on Audible audiobook service for the first six months.