- First introduced five years ago, Amazon Prime Day has quickly become a well-known fixture of the online shopping world.
- Below, we show you how to take advantage of all the great deals featured during the sales event, which will take place sometime in July. You’ll want to make sure you’re an Amazon Prime member, or else you won’t be able to shop on Prime Day.
- Since Prime Day 2020 deals haven’t been released yet, here are some other ways you can save: shop online sales going on today, find coupons for your favorite stores, and browse all the latest deals here.
- Check out all the Amazon Prime Day 2020 coverage here.
For any event – a half-marathon, a surprise party, a trip to a new city – preparation is key. And yes, even shopping counts as an event, especially when you plan on buying the products you need most in your life all at once.
Amazon’s annual Prime Day certainly warrants some extra preparation ahead of time since it lasts more than a day, features more than 1 million deals worldwide, and essentially pits you against hordes of other online shoppers who also want that kitchen appliance or pair of headphones you’ve been eyeing.
Though Amazon Prime Day is still more than a few months away, we’ve been doing the equivalent of getting up for early morning runs and putting in work at the gym for what is sure to be a whirlwind of a race: analyzing the deals and best sellers of past Prime Days, figuring out all the ways Amazon Prime Day will save you money beyond physical products, and more.
This isn’t our first Amazon Prime Day rodeo, and even if it’s not yours either, the following guide to how to shop Prime Day will be a good refresher on everything you need to succeed during the sales event.
And if this summer is the first time you'll be shopping Prime Day, welcome to the party.
We will be here to make shopping during Prime Day as smooth as possible, with deal roundups and resources like the guide below.
Read up on everything related to Amazon Prime Day 2020 here.
1. Become an Amazon Prime member
Sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime here
More than 150 million people worldwide have Prime memberships to enjoy free 2-day shipping and dozens of other useful benefits. Being able to shop Prime Day is a members-only benefit, so signing up for a free trial is definitely the first step to scoring the best deals.
If you're not already a member, you'll want to time your free trial for the month of July so you can take full advantage of Prime Day.
2. Mark your calendar
Amazon has not yet announced the dates of Prime Day 2020. Last year, Prime Day took place from July 15 through July 16. Since the sales event has happened around this time every year since 2015, we have a good idea it'll take place in mid-July in 2020.
3. Narrow down what you want to buy
See what the Shopping team's readers bought on Prime Day last year here
It's smart to go into Prime Day with at least some idea of what you want to buy (and save on). If you need some inspiration from your fellow Insider readers, these were the 30 top-selling products from last year's Prime Day.
Aptly, Amazon devices will most likely enjoy significant discounts on the company's special day. If you're able to, we recommend holding off until Prime Day to make your next Echo or Kindle purchase. Amazon now makes tons of different devices, from tablets and TVs to speakers and yes, even microwaves.
Your Prime Day wish-list doesn't have to include a best seller or an Amazon device - but you should compile some type of list to make shopping more efficient.
4. Download the Amazon app
Learn more about how to use the Amazon app here
You can use the Amazon app all year long to streamline your mobile shopping experience, but it's particularly useful for Prime Day. Before Prime Day goes live, go to the "Deals" section of the app, where you'll be able to view all upcoming deals. Click "Watch this deal" to receive an alert the moment it goes live. The app organizes all the deals you're interested in, so just pay attention to your phone notifications if you want to grab a deal before it's gone.
The Amazon app also sends periodic tips and tricks for how to make the most of Prime Day.
5. Familiarize yourself with Lightning Deals
Learn more about how Lightning Deals work here
During Prime Day, some deals will run all day, but others will only be available for a limited amount of time and only while supplies last. These Lightning Deals are usually open to everyone shopping on Amazon, but on Prime Day, they'll be exclusive to Prime members.
As their name suggests, Lightning Deals go quick, which is why you'll want to watch the deals you want (the app is the easiest way to do this). It is still possible to get a deal that has been 100% claimed if you add yourself to the deal's waitlist and another shopper bails on their purchase.
6. Create your grocery list
Shop Whole Foods at Amazon here
This year will be the third Prime Day collaboration between Amazon and Whole Foods, so we expect similar, if not better, grocery deals. Try doing your grocery shopping at Whole Foods during the week of Prime Day to save on your weekly food essentials.
Last year, Prime members who spent $10 in-store at Whole Foods or on Prime Now received a $10 credit to use on Amazon for Prime Day.
7. Bookmark our guides to the best Amazon Prime Day deals of 2020 to save time and energy on the day of the event
Read all of our Prime Day 2020 coverage here
Find the best deals across all categories of Prime Day 2020 here
The Amazon Prime Day 2020 page on Business Insider is where you'll be able to find all related coverage of the sales event, from massive deal roundups to special deal spotlights. You can count on us to cut through the clutter of Prime Day and highlight only the deals worth shopping.
We'll be rounding up all the best deals sitewide in a master deals post, as well as the best deals by popular categories like tech, home, and kitchen.