With the holiday season approaching, cord cutters who are looking for good deals and extraordinary savings are in luck because Amazon Prime Day is almost here. After being postponed earlier this year from its usual mid-July date due to COVID-19, Prime Day 2020 looks to deliver the best deals just over a month before Black Friday. Whether you’re shopping for the latest streaming devices, upgrading your television, or treating yourself to the newest electronics, Amazon will surely have what you’re looking for. Let’s look into all the expected deals for Amazon Prime Day 2020.
What is Prime Day and When Will it Happen?
Prime Day is an annual event that was first held on July 15, 2015, in honor of Amazon’s 20th anniversary. By far one of the biggest online shopping events of the year, it’s exclusive to Amazon Prime members and features an enormous amount of sales and promotions that are akin to and sometimes exceed Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
This year’s event is right around the corner and will be held next week on October 13 and 14. Early birds who are looking to take advantage of the 48 hours of savings should head over to Amazon right when the virtual doors open on Tuesday, October 13 at 12:00 am PT (3:00 am ET) as the event will conclude on Wednesday, October 14 at 12:00 a.m. PT (3:00 a.m. ET).
Expected Deals that Cord Cutters Should Look Out For
Every year, Prime Day has offered some of the best deals for cord cutters who are looking for the latest devices. Last year, there were many deals that our readers took advantage of by using our buyer’s guide. Even with a global pandemic, Prime Day 2020 may not be much different for those searching for the newest electronics. You can take advantage of some of the discounts that are offered right now before the big event as well. Plus, with more people working remotely, this is a perfect time to upgrade your laptop or tablet. You’re likely to find 2019 models of your favorite device discounted to make room for the newer models. Here are a few items that are expected to be heavily discounted to help you on your cord cutting journey.
- Amazon products and devices
- This is the best time of the year to order your favorite Amazon device. Expect savings on Amazon Fire TV devices like the just-launched Fire TV Stick Lite and bundle deals. Other devices to look out for include the Echo smart speaker, which Prime members can get a deal on ahead of Prime Day.
- Prime Video members can take advantage of discounts on a lot of digital content as well.
- You can find 2 months of select streaming channels for 99 cents per month for a limited time.
- This includes Epix, Sundance Now, Urban Movie Channel, and more.
- Movie lovers can save up to 50% on movie rentals with some as low as $1.99
- Spider-Man: Homecoming, Titanic, and The Hunger Games are just some of the features included.
- You can find 2 months of select streaming channels for 99 cents per month for a limited time.
- Competitor devices like Roku will most likely be discounted to compete with Amazon.
- TVs
- Televisions that use the Amazon Fire TV interface and budget TVs like Insignia, TCL, and Toshiba are often discounted on Prime Day.
- The Toshiba 32-inch Smart HD Fire TV Edition TV will be on sale for $119.99 and the Insignia 43-inch Smart 4K UHD Fire TV Edition TV is only $199.99, leading up to Prime Day.
- Just be aware as we get closer to the event, more TVs will surely be on sale.
- Televisions that use the Amazon Fire TV interface and budget TVs like Insignia, TCL, and Toshiba are often discounted on Prime Day.
- Sound bars
- Cord cutters can get the most out of their streaming experience by using a sound bar. Whether watching a movie or listening to music, a sound bar is a good addition to get rich audio quality and this is the perfect time to get one at a discounted price. Currently, there are a few soundbars with booming discounts.
- For an early Prime Day deal, you can take over $50 off the TCL Alto 7+ Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer
- The Vizio SB2920-C6 2.0 Soundbar is also down from $103.99 to $78.99
- Tablets and laptops
- Cord cutters who are looking to stream on the go are in luck because there will be plenty of tablets and laptops on-sale. Chromebooks, Kindles, iPads, and more are expected to be heavily discounted sometime next week,
- Right now you can get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite for only $279.99, it was $349.
- Gigabyte Aero OLED 15 has one of the largest discounts as it’s now $1,529, it was $1,899.
Keep in mind while you’re browsing on Amazon, if you do not see a discount on what you’re looking for, Black Friday is a little over a month away and it stands to reason that it may be on sale then.
Also remember that new deals will pop up throughout the event and that prices on Amazon change frequently. Prices listed for early deals in this post were accurate at the time of posting but may change in the days leading up to Prime Day and during the event.
Free Money: 5 Ways to Earn $10 Credits for Prime Day
Since we’re a week away from the big day, Amazon is offering ways for Prime members to save even more money beforehand.
- Shop U.S. based small business
- It’s simple, from now until October 12, if you spend $10 on select small business products then you will get a $10 credit to spend on Prime Day. This offer is essentially free money and it’s exclusive to Prime members.
- Whole Foods Prime Day Event
- If you’re a cord cutter who wants to earn a $10 Prime Day credit on your next grocery run then Whole Foods has you covered. Prime members can spend $10 at Whole Foods Market online or in-store to get $10 to spend on Amazon during Prime Day. This offer is valid from now until October 14 and some restrictions apply.
- Amazon Go
- Prime members can spend $10 in an Amazon Go store from now until October 14, and earn a $10 credit that can be used during Prime Day.
- Fresh In-Store via Amazon App
- Prime Members who spend $10 by using the QR code in the Fresh In-Store section of the Amazon app will get a $10 credit to use on Prime Day.
- Amazon Books, Amazon Pop Up, or Amazon 4-Star
- Book lovers can get the most out of their Prime membership by spending $10 at Amazon Books, Amazon Pop or Amazon 4-Star, you’ll earn a $10 credit for Prime Day.
Best Ways to Shop on Prime Day
After you take advantage of those free credits, it’s time to cash-in on those amazing deals. To make the most of your shopping experience, here are a few strategies to stretch your dollars and get the most out of all the deals occurring on October 13 and 14.
- Don’t procrastinate
- The most important and obvious thing is to make sure you’re subscribed to Amazon Prime because if you’re not then you will not have access to any of the discounts.
- Sales are limited to inventory availability, so you want to have a list of what you’re looking for already set up. You can create a shopping list via Amazon beforehand, so if there’s an item that you have your eye on, add it on your list before Prime Day so you can get to it quickly. If someone wants to gift you an item then you can add it to your wishlist as well.
- Price Tracking
- Third-party price trackers are beneficial for online shopping from Amazon and beyond because they will inform you if you’re getting the best deal or not. Honey, CamelCamelCamel, and Keepa are 3 of the best trackers that will give you an idea of an item’s pricing history and influence your decision-making.
- Compare the competition
- With it being one of the biggest shopping spectacles of the year, other retail competitors are going to offer competitive pricing to Amazon. Keep an eye out on specials from Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and other big retailers to see if they have a better value. When it comes to the brick-and-mortar stores a survey by researchers from Accenture shows that 41% of consumers say they won’t shop with retailers that have laid off staff or reduced benefits because of the pandemic, so some stores may compensate by lowering prices to bring in more traffic.
- Ask Alexa and other Amazon features
- If you have an Alexa device like a smart speaker then you can simply ask aloud, “Alexa, what are my Prime Day deals?”. In previous years, Alexa users have had early-access as a reward for owning the device. Plus, Amazon’s website and app have other features that users can use like the Waitlist tool. If you miss a lightning deal, add the item to your waitlist and if someone removes the item from their cart then you may have a chance to purchase it.
What products are you most excited about purchasing on Prime Day? What are some things that you are hoping are on sale? Let us know in the comments below.