Amazon has announced a second Prime Day, which will take place on October 11 but the event which has become popular for shoppers to bag the best deals has received doubts from experts.
It's the second discount day from the retailer this year and is only available to Amazon Prime members, who can buy much-loved tech products, beauty brands and home goods for a fraction of the price.
As the first major sale event before Christmas, it marks the lead up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Ahead of the sale Amazon has hinted at what will be on offer, including big name brands like Nespresso, Phillips and LEGO. But it may not be as successful as the UK grapples with the energy crisis and the falling economy, so we have to ask - will UK shoppers benefit from events like this?
READ MORE: Amazon Prime Day October 2022: what to watch out for, low prices and 'no-name' brands
Amazon's first Prime Day event this year in July made just over $12 billion globally and experts at Parcel Hero predicted Britons spent around £1bn during the event. But fast forward three months, and the buying interests in the UK have certainly shifted, with increased mortgage payments, energy costs and the fall of the pound to the dollar. All of this put together and October doesn't seem to be the best time to promote spending.
Parcel Hero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks M.I.L.T. has raised concerns about the sale for both shoppers and retailers. He said: "Shoppers who opened their wallets only a week ago may well now keep them tightly closed during October as they wait and see how the chips fall.
"It's not only shoppers who may think again. Sellers may also pause before offering big Prime Day bargains. Amazon sales events like Prime Days and Black Fridays are traditionally a huge draw for third-party sellers on the marketplace. However, goods made in the US, EU and Japan will be notably be more expensive for them to import to the UK."
This is all down to the fall in the value of the pound against the Euro, Dollar and Yen. UK retailers will also have to swallow many increased costs, down to pricier fuel, export costs and the more recent drop in exchange rate.
The prices we see on Amazon Prime day and other shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday may not actually be 'money well spent' as the rising costs will likely be passed onto shoppers.
The website CamelCamelCamel is a good tool for shoppers to check the prising history of a product on Amazon, shoppers can see if the product has been offered for less money before and can also set up alerts for when a product drops in price.
Other UK retailers will also struggle to offer competitive prices during this second Prime day event. Other statistics shared by David Jinks showed the trickle-down affect of Prime Day and how it impacts other sales.
Mr Jinks said: "Last year, non-Amazon online sales grew by 69% globally on the first day of the sale, as other retailers sought to get in on the spending action.
"This time around, stores and traders reeling from the fall of the pound might be far less likely to offer Prime-timed bargains."
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