When Is Amazon Prime Day 2022: What Every Shopper Needs to Know

Serious summer savings coming your way!

If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for this year’s Prime Day, buckle up! The most exciting online shopping ride of the year is almost here. This year’s Amazon Prime Day sale is slated for July 12 and 13, offering Prime members two full days to shop their hearts out for must-haves in just about every category the site has to offer. Over two million sales will include best-selling tools, electronics, vacuums, patio essentials, the car accessories and lots more.

“Amazon Prime Days started back in July of 2015 as a way to commemorate Amazon’s 20th anniversary. It was initially one day but grew to a two-day event that occurred every year in early summer until the pandemic threw things off course,” Trae Bodge, a smart shopping expert, explains. “In 2021, Prime Day was a two-day event in June, but it’s now scheduled for July in order to prepare for back-to-school and enjoy summer to the fullest. What’s also notable is that many other retailers, including Walmart and Target, offer competitive sales events that overlap with Prime Day.”

The Prime Day deals won’t be limited to just Amazon-label products. Almost everything the site sells will be offered at promotional pricing over the two-day bargain bonanza. Amazon will also be offering incentives to shop small businesses, women-owned merchants and minority-created brands.

But! You need to be an Amazon Prime member to cash in on the deals. Here’s where to get a free 30-day trial — and below, find everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2022.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon’s biggest sale event of the year, Prime Day, will begin at midnight PDT on July 12 and run through 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 13. The 48-hour event features more than two million amazing Amazon Prime sale offerings, rivaling Black Friday as the biggest global shopping event of the year.

Many of the deals are timed and will sell out fast, so you have to be on your shopping game to catch the best discounts. And if you don’t have a Prime membership yet, sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Think of it as Amazon’s annual retail celebration. Prime Day is literally 48 hours of deals, steals, and lowered prices for those who are Amazon Prime members. “Amazon’s Prime Day is known for deep discounts on Amazon’s own brands and devices because they have more wiggle room in their margins,” explains Bodge. “They can afford to take a hit on Kindles because once you own a Kindle, you are a captive audience and will continue to buy Kindle books from Amazon. The same with a Ring doorbell, which comes with a free plan, but there’s also a low-cost monthly plan with more features, as well as Echo devices.”

When did Amazon Prime Day begin?

It was introduced in 2015 as a one-day sale that rivaled even Black Friday in terms of deals. It was also a celebration of the company’s 20th anniversary but has now become a treasured Internet shopping tradition. Shoppers around the world look forward to rock-bottom prices on laundry essentials, car detailing supplies, painting tools, lawn care products and more.

What do I need to do to shop Amazon Prime Day?

You need to be an Amazon Prime member in order to shop the deals. It costs $14.99 per month or $139 annually to become an Amazon Prime subscriber, or you could hop on the Prime Day train without paying a cent by signing up for its free 30-day trial anytime before Prime Day. College students can also sign up for a six-month free trial of a student Prime membership before the big day.

Are there any other incentives to shop Amazon Prime Day?

You betcha. Amazon is going out of its way to make sure shoppers don’t feel the pinch from surging inflation, so they’re offering thousands of deals on everyday staples like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, snacks, and even liquid and powder laundry detergents to sweeten the pot. This is in stark contrast to deals from prior years that focused more on entertainment and life upgrades, and a move that Amazon insiders say is to promote smart spending while saving time and energy.

Amazon Music will also offer extra goodies as part of the Amazon Prime sale. Prime members who haven’t yet tried Amazon Music Unlimited can get the best deal ever — four months free with unlimited access to more than 70 million songs ad-free and millions of podcast episodes. Non-members will be treated to up to three months of free Prime Music membership. Wowza.

The gaming category will see a handful of freebies. Get up to the first four months of Audible membership free, podcast lovers will get three months free of Wondery+ and even Amazon’s styling service will offer slashed prices just to try it out.

What are some of the biggest Amazon Prime Day deals?

Amazon devices including the Echo devices, Fire tablets, and Kindle e-readers are practically guaranteed to go on sale: For example, the Echo Dot’s price is already marked down below $30 for Prime members. Other items expected to have deals are smart home accessories, phones, computers, cameras, TVs, fitness accessories and kitchen appliances.

Clean up your kitchen with 20 percent off a variety of bestsellers from Lemi Shine, including their popular dishwashing detergent pods and dishwasher cleaner. Collapsible travel cups and other goodies from Stojo like this sports water bottle will be offered at up to 35 percent off in honor of Prime Day, and Apple AirPods Pro will be marked down to $174.99, a 30 percent discount.

If you’ve been waiting to replace your deck or patio furniture with new pieces, Prime Day 2022 is definitely the time to do it. “Many retailers are experiencing overstocks in unexpected categories, like athleisure, furniture, and televisions. We might see more plentiful discounts in these categories as Amazon and their vendors look to clear out that stock,” shares Bodge, suggesting that items like outdoor pillows and gardening equipment could be marked down well below the $10 mark.

Bestsellers for DIY-ers like the Bug Bite Thing, car floor mats and the Vivosun compost bin are also expected to see prices slashed during the two-day event.

Does Walmart have a competing Prime Day Sale?

Walmart isn’t sitting this mega sale week out! While the retailer hasn’t announced the exact parameters of its own competing Prime Day sale for 2022 just yet, its Walmart Deals for Days landing page is already live. Last year’s Deals for Days event opened a day before Prime Day and finished a day after, and was open to everyone from regular shoppers to Walmart+ members who credit the service with faster shipping than Amazon Prime. The extended hours and offerings were also a hit with shoppers.

In every category, Walmart has offered hundreds of markdowns and deals at up to 70 percent off regular retail prices. Walmart already boasts guaranteed cheaper pricing than just about everywhere else. In-house brands like Mainstays, Better Homes & Gardens, Pioneer Woman, and Equate should see the biggest markdowns this year, while national name brand bestsellers and hidden gems will also see noteworthy rollbacks during the slightly longer sales event.

You’ll be able to score this Hisense 40-inch Class FHD Roku Smart LED TV for $178 instead of its usual $228. The same deals will also be available at all in-store retail locations — an impressive feat in a world of online deals.

Do other retailers have a competing Prime Day Sale?

Big retailers around the country are jumping in to compete with Amazon’s own Prime Day deals. Aside from Walmart Deals for Days, Target is also offering a digital Deal Days whirlwind featuring steep price cuts and markdowns across its website from July 11 through 13. Target is expected to slash prices on home décor, clothing, electronics, toys and patio items.

In past years, Best Buy has also offered some of its best prices on top-selling appliances during the same days and hours as the Prime sale. Wayfair has added hundreds of markdowns to its Daily Sales section for 2022. And even The Home Depot rolls out thousands of digital sales to compete with Prime Day (and yes, the prices are typically better than Amazon’s on home improvement items). Shoppers are encouraged to keep checking the Home Depot Special Savings Center in the days leading up to Prime Day because the sales offerings often debut early.

Source: 

• Trae Bodge, Smart Shopping Expert at Truetrae.com

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