How to Shop the Best Deals on Amazon Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day is scheduled for July 16-17, 2024, and promises to be one of the biggest Prime Day events ever. Every year, thousands of items get marked down in a giant online sale that rivals the deals that you’ll find on Black Friday.

Prime Day has quickly become one of the most prominent traditions in the world of e-commerce. The event started in 2015 as a way for Amazon to celebrate its 20th year in business.

While the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 Prime Day event, things quickly got back up and running. Today, Prime Day is a two-day event because a single day just couldn’t hold all the deals.

While Amazon Prime Day obviously impacts Amazon and the merchants who sell on that platform, Prime Day has become such a massive deal online that other retailers have started taking part in it.

While Prime Day, which is actually a two-day event, will only see Amazon marking down items at such drastic rates, it’s become a tradition to see competitors like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart mark down items in the days leading up to Prime Day.

According to Amazon, Prime members saved upwards of $2.5 billion during 2023 Prime Day. That means that there are plenty of opportunities for you to get some of the items you’ve been thinking of buying. This year, Prime Day is going to start on July 16 at 12:01 AM PDT.

For 48 hours, tens of thousands of items will get marked down. If you want to get the best deals possible, it’s important to know what’s happening and how to make the most of your time when shopping Prime Day.

Discover some Prime Day shopping tips that can help you make the most of your 48 hours of Prime Day today.

Get a Prime Account

It may seem like it goes without saying, but you can’t take advantage of Amazon Prime Day deals without an Amazon Prime account. While most people have an Amazon account, it’s important to know that you need a Prime account to take part in Prime Day.

If you don’t already have a Prime account, you have plenty of time to sign up before Prime Day kicks off. To make things even better, you can usually get a 30-day free trial of Prime.

There are some items that will be marked down and made available to non-Prime members, but if you want to get the best deals on Prime Day, you’ll have to have an account.

Know What’s On Sale

One of the trickiest parts about getting the most out of your Prime Day shopping experience is the fact that Amazon doesn’t put out a list of what’s going to be on sale.

Unlike Black Friday deals, there isn’t a catalog of items that are going to get marked down for Prime Day. Traditionally, Amazon keeps things under wraps until the event starts.

Mark Bergen, a University of Minnesota Professor of Marketing believes that the secrecy surrounding Prime Day’s best deals is intentional. Bergen explains, “They’re trying to create buzz around these two days.”

What we do know is that there are already some early deals that you can take advantage of. Everything from Roomba vacuums to Amazon Echo speakers is already on sale. You can shop virtually any category on Amazon already and find some items that are slashed significantly.

While you may not know exactly what’s on sale until the items “go live,” it’s a good idea to know what you’re looking for.

In an event that includes tens of thousands of items, you don’t want to deal with scrolling through everything. Make a list of items that you’re interested in buying and be willing to look at some different brands.

For instance, if you’re looking for a smart security system, you’ll probably be able to find at least one of the leading brands in that industry with discounted items on Prime Day.

Set a Budget

Let’s be honest; it’s easy to get on Amazon at any time and spend way more than you meant to. It’s so convenient to have everything right there in front of you, after all.

With this in mind, it’s important to decide how much you’re going to spend.

Admittedly, that can be a bit easier said than done, especially since you don’t know exactly what’s on sale or how much it’s going to cost.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to set a maximum that you’re willing to spend on your Prime Day shopping.

Shop Different Deal Types

All Prime Day deals are not created equally, but they’re all excellent. Once you have your budget and a general idea of what items you want to buy, you’ll need to know how Amazon sets up its Prime Day event.

There are different types of sales that take place throughout the 48 hours of Prime Day.

Deals of the Day

Deals of the Day are on items that are marked down for 24 hours. This means that some of the deals that you can get on July 16 won’t be available on July 17.

It also means that the items that are marked down on the first day of the event aren’t everything that you can get for a reduced price.

At 12:01 AM PDT on July 17, a new group of items will get marked down that weren’t on sale during the first half of the event.

Lightning Deals

Lightning Deals are a hugely popular option during Prime Day, largely because they typically include some of the biggest reductions.

These deals only last for a designated amount of time or are posted as a “while supplies last” deal, making them a perfect opportunity for people who like a good adrenaline rush while they’re shopping.

Lightning Deals, which are a staple of the Amazon Prime Day tradition, are constantly popping up, sometimes as often as every five minutes, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on these deals.

Alexa Deals

Within the last couple of years, Amazon has also started running Alexa Deals during Prime Day. These deals are offered exclusively through the Amazon Alexa voice-powered digital assistant.

If you don’t have a standalone Alexa device in your house, there are other options available to you. Alexa Deals are available through the Alexa app.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of these deals is that Alexa will alert you to any deals on items you have in your cart, on your wish list, or on your “saved for later” list.

Once you find out about a deal, a simple, “Alexa, buy it for me,” will cause your Alexa to purchase the item and complete the transaction for you.

Get Ahead of the Game

Finally, it’s a good idea to start shopping now, weeks before Prime Day officially starts. You can go ahead and start adding items to your cart and to your wish list that you want to buy.

When you do this, you’ll be able to log in and look at them on Prime Day, where you’ll see if they’ve been marked down.

Prime Day 2024 is expected to be the biggest Prime Day event in the history of the sale.

Knowing how to set yourself up for success before the event actually begins is crucial, and these tips can help you make sure that you’re getting the best Prime Day deals.