It’s that time of year again: the birds are tweeting, summer sunshine is flooding through the windows, and bargain-hunters across the world have begun twitching in anticipation of the annual Amazon Prime Day.
The yearly sale from the internet’s “everything shop” slashes the RRP of millions of products: think homewares, beauty, toys, tech, food and drink, and more. Despite its name, Amazon Prime Day is a two-day event, and every year grows in deals as well as fanfare with special offers and promotions not just on physical products but across Prime Video, Amazon Music, Audible audiobooks, Fire TV and more.
When is Amazon Prime Day 2022?
Mark your diaries: this year the worldwide event will take place from 00:01am on July 12 right through until 11.59pm on July 13, giving you plenty of time to bag the items on your wishlist. This moves Amazon Prime Day back to its usual spring/summertime billing after a push-back to October in 2020 thanks to the demands of the pandemic.
How often does Amazon hold a Prime Day sale?
It’s been going every year since the inaugural event back in 2015. What began as a one-day sale exclusively for Prime members in celebration of Amazon’s 20th birthday has since grown into a major event on the global shopping calendar.
Take this year for instance: Prime Day isn’t just a UK-wide thing. The bargain bonanza will take place in more than 20 countries around the world, allowing millions of members to save serious money on everyday essentials, fashion, tech, food and more from recognised brands as well as small businesses.
What kind of deals are on Amazon Prime Day?
As Amazon Prime Day pros, we usually see two types of deals over the event: Lightning Deals and Deals of the Day.
Lightning Deals are flash sales, with very limited stock available for a short, fixed period at a knockout price. You need to be quick if you want them; once they’re gone - they’re gone.
Meanwhile, Deals of the Day are less of a mad dash to the online checkout. They showcase deals on specific products that you can mull over for the whole day before deciding to buy.
Between the two, you can usually pick up all sorts of goods on your shopping list. All this, plus unlimited delivery, with more products available for next-day or in some cases, same-day delivery.
As well as products, there’s a very good chance of deals, offers and exclusive content from Amazon Music, Prime Video and Twitch Prime.
What were the best deals last year?
There were two millions deals across categories last year as well as exclusive content and entertainment across Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Prime Gaming. Customers around the world collectively bought 250 million items yet saved more than during any other Prime Day before 2021.
As is typical of Prime Day, the best deals to be scored were across tech and home appliances. Ninja’s multi-function Foodi MAX Health Grill and Air Fryer, which can bake, roast, reheat, dehydrate and grill as well as air fry making a proper kitchen practically obsolete, fell by a whopping £100, from £249.99 to £149.99. Nutribullets sold for as little as £43, while BBQ kings and queens were able to snap up a Campingaz party grill for £66.99, was £129.99.
While we can’t be sure, it certainly felt as though there was a digital stampede towards these foodie appliances from hungry buyers across the nation.
Meanwhile the price of Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones tumbled down to £94.99 from the original RRP of £179.95, and health fans were able to pick up a Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch for £113, down from £199.99.
One of the best deals we saw was £130 wiped off the price of a brand new (at the time) iPhone 12, taking it down to £879.99 from £935. Amazon aside, these deals are practically unheard of.
What to expect this year
Every year Amazon teases with talk of its sale being the biggest, baddest, boldest yet - and they never disappoint. There are some big names in the mix - including Sony, Braun, Oral-B, Ray-Ban, Nikon, Phillips, Beats, Samsung, Apple and more.
Whether you’ve got a carefully thought out shopping list, or you’re just window shopping waiting to jump on an incredible deal, there are few things you can’t find in Amazon’s Prime Day sale.
As well as fun bits for the home and holiday essentials, the sales offer the perfect time to pick up a big ticket item for less (hello, new OLED TV or hybrid mattress), bag Christmas and birthday gifts early, or just treat yo’self for a fraction of the price. After the last few years we’ve had, who doesn’t deserve it?
Are there any deals on right now?
Yes! Amazon has a Daily Deals page which offer promotions for 24 hours. This is where you can find deals across categories, from Amazon devices like Kindle, Echo and Alexa to furniture, kitchen tools, beauty and tech.
As good as these deals are, they’re not a patch on the offers available during Amazon Prime Day. Which brings us neatly to the next, crucial section...
How to take advantage of Prime Day deals
Amazon’s Prime Day sale is exclusively for Prime members so must be signed up if you plan to bag any of the bargains in Amazon’s sale. As well as next-day delivery on thousands of products, Amazon Prime membership also opens up a world of video, books and music streaming services.
Students can get in on the action with Amazon Student, which costs £3.99 a month (following a six-month free trial, that is!), and comes with a whole raft of discounts and offers for those still in education.
How much does Amazon Prime membership cost?
You can either pay £7.99 a month or pay a £79 annual fee, whichever works best for your budget. If you haven’t signed up yet because you’re not sure if it’s for you, try a free 30-day trial before the sale and see how you like it. Those on trials will still be able to shop the sale, even if you don’t keep the subscription afterwards.
But really, with next-day delivery on thousands of products, Amazon Prime membership also opens up a world of video, books, grocery, gaming and music streaming services. Not to mention new benefits and tie-ups becoming available all the time, like free Deliveroo Plus membership, access to AmazonLaunchpad where you can find cool new products from start-ups, and Try Before You Buy on Amazon Fashion where you can try on six items at home, pay for the ones you want and return the ones you don’t for free.
