Prepare your wallets and get ready to sign up for that free Amazon Prime trial membership: An Amazon press release has officially revealed that Prime Day 2024 will occur this July 16-17. Amazon's biggest sale of the year (and arguably the biggest sale of any retailer) will soon be underway, and we'll help you parse out which are the best deals available—and the ones you should steer clear of.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is a 48-hour sale, offering discounts on the Amazon website in virtually every category. It began in 2015 as a one-day event to celebrate Amazon's 20th anniversary, but it has grown exponentially since then, and now qualifies as a major shopping event, with other retailers spinning up their own sales to capitalize on the hype.
Of course, calling it "Prime Day" is a bit of a misnomer. In recent years, Amazon has also released "early Prime Day" deals that can last up to a week or two, and there's another "Prime Day"-like sale in the fall, officially called Prime Big Deal Days (though the deals usually aren't quite as impressive).
When is Amazon Prime Day 2024?
Amazon has officially announced the dates of Prime Day 2024 to be on July 16 and 17 in their official press release. Keep in mind that Amazon is already releasing "early" deals that will lead up to the two-day event.
What you can expect on Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day always comes with surprise deals, but there are usually sales across a wide variety of products. To get an idea, you can see our 20 favorite deals from Prime Day 2023. While you might not find all of these same deals, you are very likely to find similar ones this summer. Amazon products like Fire TVs, tablets, smart speakers, and security cameras will hit new low prices or match their lowest prices from previous sales. Some products that Amazon says will be at their lowest price include Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, Blink Outdoor 4 multi-packs, Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen), Kindle Scribe, and eero Max 7 mesh wifi systems.
Some brands that Amazon officially announced will be part of Prime Day are Clinique, Allbirds, Kiehl’s, Sony, KitchenAid, Coach handbags, Dyson Beauty, Peloton, Youth to the People, New Balance, HP, Jansport, PlayDoh, Nordic Track, Poppi Prebiotic Sodas, and Hatch. As far as categories, Amazon has said to expect deals on electronics, kitchen, beauty, and apparel, with new deals sometimes dropping as often as every 5 minutes. They also mentioned they will have 40% off Sony Wireless Headphones and up to 30% off Peloton as invite-only deals.
Can you shop on Prime Day without being a Prime member?
You don't need to be a Prime Member to shop on Prime Day, but most of the best deals are for Prime Members only. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial, which is definitely enough to cover the whole event. However, not everyone will be eligible for these trials, so be sure to read the terms.
What is special about Prime Day?
As a shopping writer, I can tell you that most of the lowest prices I have seen, whether for a tablet, a TV, or an appliance, hit on Prime Day (at least according to price-checking tools). The breadth of products on sale is also much greater than at other points throughout the year. But that doesn't mean all of the deals are great—you'll still have to do your due diligence to make sure the deal you're looking at is legit.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
While it probably doesn't make sense to become a Prime member only to score Prime Day discounts, there are a lot of other benefits to subscribing. In any case, if you're shopping for Prime Day, make sure you come out a winner and go in with a plan.
Are other companies also doing deals during Prime Day?
Yes. While Prime Day is solely an Amazon deal, it also gets competition from the likes of Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and other retailers. Walmart announced the dates for its "Prime Day" deals this summer (called Walmart Week), taking place from July 8 to July 11. The deals are for Walmart+ members, which, like Amazon Prime, is not free. However, you can get a free 30-day trial; otherwise it'll be $98 a year.
This post will be updated with all the latest information about Prime Day 2024 as it is released.