It’s typically one of the most anticipated sales of the year. In 2021, pent-up consumer demand and a surge in new online shoppers could make Amazon Prime Day even bigger.
This year’s Amazon Prime Day will include discounts on more than 2 million items for Prime members — about twice as many as last year — including over 1 million deals from small and medium-sized businesses, according to the retail giant.
The annual two-day shopping event, which was delayed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is now set to kick off at 3 a.m. ET on June 21.
Here’s how to get set for the upcoming sale.
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There will be limited-time offers on a wide range of products, especially items related to entertaining and traveling as Covid-related restrictions are lifted, such as 25% off air fryers, smokers, backyard games, TVs, JBL headphones, Legos and Amazon devices like the Kindle, Ring video doorbell and Fire TV streamers starting at $100.
“I always expect there to be some great deal on one item that everyone buys,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com, of the two-day shopping event.
In the past, some of the most popular items have included the Instant Pot, Echo Dot and, of course, the Amazon coat.
Last year, amid the coronavirus outbreak, many of the deals were geared toward staying in. “This year, we’ve swung back in the other direction,” Ramhold said.
In order to take advantage of Prime Day deals, you must be an Amazon Prime member.
If you haven’t already joined, it’s free for 30 days. After that, you can cancel or sign up for a month-to-month membership for about $13 or pay $119 for the year. For deal hunters, note that membership also includes free music, movies and e-books, as well as discounts on groceries at Whole Foods.
Then, download the Amazon app, scroll through upcoming deals and mark the items you are interested in as “watching,” Ramhold advised. You’ll receive a notification when the price drops.
When a deal is live, add the item to your cart immediately. Some offers sell out quickly, Ramhold said. Once it is in your cart, you’ll have 15 minutes to decide whether to complete the purchase.
If there is a specific product that you are set on and you don’t see it in upcoming sales, you can create a wish list and Amazon will alert you if it does become part of a Prime Day deal.
To capitalize on your savings even more, consider using a credit card with rewards or cash back.
As vaccination rates increase and the economy bounces back, plans for post-pandemic sprees — or so-called revenge shopping — are already underway, according to a recent spending survey by LendingTree.
Nearly half of all consumers said they are so eager to shop that it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll go into debt this summer, the survey of more than 2,100 Americans found.
“This feel-better situation will likely translate into higher levels of household spending,” according to Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the National Retail Federation. “Today’s year-over-year numbers are off the charts in some categories,” he added, particularly clothing, furniture and sporting goods.
“The economy and consumer spending have proven to be much more resilient than many feared a year ago,” Kleinhenz said.