Amazon Prime Day is the online retailer’s biggest shopping event of the year. Spread out over two days in the summer, Prime Day features limited-time, limited-quantity deals (called lightning deals) on a wide variety of clothing, bedding, laptops, headphones, Amazon-branded gear and more. You’ll also find spotlight deals on big-name merchandise that will last throughout the two-day shopping event.
There’s a catch though: To cash in on the savings this year, you need to be an Amazon Prime member.
Top products in this article:
Amazon Prime membership (monthly), $14.99
Echo Dot (4th Gen) smart speaker with Alexa, $50
Since the first Amazon Prime Day in 2015, Prime Day has evolved into a retail-industry phenomenon. Eager to compete against Amazon’s mega-shopping event, other major retailers, such as Best Buy and Kohl’s, offer their own online deals on Prime Day. Walmart even launched its own competing annual event, Deals for Days.
When is Amazon Prime Day 2022?
Amazon has not officially announced the dates for Amazon Prime Day 2022.
Traditionally, Amazon has held its Prime Day event in mid-to-late July. If this scheduling holds true, it would suggest that Prime Day 2022 will be held on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
That said, the Amazon Prime Day 2021 sale was held Monday, June 21 through Tuesday, June 22, 2021. That’s unusual timing for the sale. If Amazon chooses to repeat the early timing for its Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale, it’s possible that Prime Day could fall on Monday, June 20 and Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
Be sure to check back here for the latest info on the Amazon Prime Day 2022 dates.
What do you need to take part in Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day deals are, generally, exclusive to Amazon Prime members. Those who have never been Amazon Prime members can get a 30-day free trial right now.
An Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month (plus taxes), or $139 per year. It includes much more than access to Prime Day deals: You get free, two-day shipping on most Amazon products (and free same-day delivery in some areas), access to TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video, plus special deals at Whole Food Market and more.
You can see a full list of Amazon Prime benefits by clicking here. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime by clicking the button below.
By the way: If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, it’s still possible to take advantage of some deals at that time. Big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s have seized on Prime Day to offer their own deals in-store and on their websites, no memberships required. Expect announcements about those sales after Amazon announces its 2022 Prime Day dates.
What goes on sale during Amazon Prime Day?
There’s no easy answer to the question, “what goes on sale during Amazon Prime Day?” Except, perhaps, for this: A lot — as in, a lot of stuff goes on sale for Amazon Prime Day.
Amazon keeps its full list of Prime Day deals under wraps until they go live. That said, many items go on sale consistently from Prime Day to Prime Day.
Expect sales on Amazon-branded products, such as the commerce giant’s Alexa-based smart-home products, including the Echo Dot (the No. 1 Prime Day seller in 2020, per Amazon). It’s currently priced at $50.
It also wouldn’t be surprising for Amazon to offer discounts on 2021 Prime Day top-sellers such as the iRobot Roomba 692 robot vacuum. In past years, shoppers have also found great deals on the Instant Pot multi-cooker, apparel from Adidas, vacuums from Dyson, Keurig coffee makers and much more.
Discounts on the Apple Watch — and other Apple products such as AirPods Pro and MacBooks — have been common during past Prime Days as well. For example, the Apple Watch 3, an older-but-still-useful version, was marked down to $169 for Prime Day 2021.
(If you’re looking for a current deal on the Apple Watch, check out Amazon now — you can pick up the Apple Watch Series 7 for under $350, a saving of more than $50.
And while historically, the best deals on new televisions have emerged on Black Friday and during Super Bowl season, nowadays you can find great TV deals on Prime Day.
Have your eye on a 65-inch Amazon Fire TV with 4K resolution, perhaps? Then be sure to check in on Prime Day for a possible deal. And if you can’t wait, then maybe get one now. Amazon currently has the $600 TV on sale for $500.
Here’s how to shop local on Prime Day
Usually, one of the best deals to be had during Amazon Prime Day is the retail giant’s small-business promotion. Amazon hasn’t announced anything about this for Prime Day 2022, but it typically works like this: If you spend $10 at participating small businesses during a Prime Day promotional period, you’ll get a $10 Amazon credit to spend during the shopping event.
No matter what time of year, you can shop small — and local — on Amazon through one of its affiliated small- and medium-sized businesses. You can find a full list of stores here. The list is searchable by region. It also highlights military-owned, women-owned, Black-owned and family-owned businesses.
How should you prepare for Amazon Prime Day?
It can be tricky to plan for Amazon Prime Day; the deals vary from year to year. But there are a few things to keep in mind while looking for the best Amazon Prime Day deals.
For starters: The best discounts usually apply to Amazon’s own products. It’s a good idea to put off any purchases of Amazon devices in the month before Prime Day — they’re the most likely products of to go on deep discount.
Prime Day is also a smart time to shop for everyday housewares, such as electric toothbrushes and small kitchen appliances. These products are typically featured sales items. We’ve seen great deals on coffee (such as K-cups), charging cables and other common essentials as well — including prices that stand out as some of the best of the year.
But not every Prime Day deal will be a good one. To know for sure, try CamelCamelCamel — it’s a site that tracks Amazon prices. Just paste an Amazon URL in the site’s search bar and you can see every the year-over-year price history for any Amazon item.
