Big retail sales are no longer limited to a thinly-veiled partnership with major US holidays. In fact, many retailers have created their own “holidays.” Nordstrom has its popular Anniversary Sale. Nike has Air Max Day. And of course, the online behemoth Amazon has Prime Day.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Introduced in 2015 in part to celebrate Amazon’s 20th anniversary, the first Amazon Prime Day was a one-day-only retail holiday for Prime members that sought to overtake Black Friday as the sales event of the year.

The inaugural Prime Day received some criticism from shoppers who weren’t happy with the quality and quantity of deals offered but Amazon has stepped up its game in both realms since.

During Prime Day, you can expect prices that are their lowest ever, besting even Black Friday on popular items from tech, beauty, home and kitchen, and virtually every other category under the sun.

Last year, Prime Day was a huge success. During the 48-hour sale event held on July 15-16, members bought more than 175 million items. It was the biggest shopping day in company history until it was surpassed by Cyber Monday shortly after, a familiar pattern of record-breaking.

But only Prime members get access to these competitive deals.

Here's how to sign up and head over here to see all the benefits you can get in addition to free 2-day shipping and Prime Day access.

New members can try Prime out for 30 days before committing, so if you're not yet a member, you should time your sign-up to the month of October.

When is Prime Day?

Due to recent delays and increased demand related to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Amazon has pushed back the event to the fall. A report says Prime Day will happen in October this year. The exact dates for Prime Day 2020 have not yet been announced.

Based on previous years, we expected it to take place in mid-July.

Every year, the sale event lasts longer and longer, so we wouldn't be surprised if Prime Day 2020 lasts more than 48 hours. Plus, since it'll mark the company's 25th anniversary, Amazon is sure to make this year's Prime Day extra special.

What deals are available during Prime Day?

As for deals you can expect, there will be a lot, and new deals start as often as every five minutes. Last year, members took advantage of deals like:

In the US, best sellers were the Instant Pot, 23andMe DNA Test, and somewhat surprisingly, LifeStraw personal water filters.

Business Insider readers loved the sharply discounted Echo Dot and Kindle Paperwhite; whitening strips from Crest and toothbrushes from Philips Sonicare; and robot vacuums from Eufy, Dyson, and iRobot.

Historically, Prime Day is the best time of the year to buy an Amazon device

In the past, the company has offered the biggest deals on Alexa-enabled products like the Echo smart speakers, the Fire TV, and Fire tablets. Most of these Amazon devices should be on sale this Prime Day and may include the newest Alexa-enabled products introduced late last year.

Examples of past Amazon device deals include:

Outside of physical device deals, there will be deals on Amazon services and memberships like entertainment (Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime Video, Audible, etc.) and grocery shopping (Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pantry, Whole Foods, etc.).

Prime Day is also a great time to shop at other retailers in addition to Amazon

In previous years, plenty of other online retailers threw competing sales around Prime Day. However, because Prime Day is postponed this year, we're not sure yet whether retailers like Nordstrom, Target, and eBay will also move their summer sales accordingly.

We'll update you here once we know more about other sales that will happen in October as well.

What we do know is that Amazon's perks like fast and free 2-day shipping remain, making Prime Day more often than not the winner in a competition of price and convenience.

If you still have lingering questions, read our guide to the most frequently asked questions about Amazon Prime Day. One major tip is to sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial if you're not already a member so you can take advantage of the deals.

If you plan on shopping Prime Day this year, we'll be covering from nearly every point of entry and combing through thousands of deals to cherry-pick the ones you won't want to miss

Check back at our Prime Day 2020 page (or bookmark it) for easy access to the best deals as they pop up throughout Amazon Prime Day 2020 and to learn about any updates.

If you're interested in specific categories of deals on Prime Day, we have you covered with these roundups:

Foto: Source: Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

The best deals overall:

Tech:

Home, kitchen, and travel:

Fashion, beauty, and personal care:

Learn more about Prime Day:

Foto: Source: Alyssa Powell/Business Insider