Traditionally held in early summer, Amazon Prime Day is one of the internet’s biggest sales, offering customers a huge range of discounts on everything from TVs and tablets to coffee machines. Last year, it was postponed from its usual slot in July to October in order to better support the safety of employees during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many shoppers wondering if the event will go ahead in 2021.
But now, the company has confirmed that the annual sales event will be taking place and it’s even earlier than expected. According to a press release from Amazon, Prime Day will take place from 21 June to 22 June this year, meaning the main event is ramping up.
Prior to the announcement, Amazon’s CFO Brian Olsavsky hinted that Prime Day would take place sooner out of concern for transportation slowdowns in July and the potential impact of the Olympics, according to CNET. “We are going to do it on a date where we think it’ll get more attention for our customers, and also for our vendors,” Olsavsky said.
Despite last year’s bargain-fest taking place later than planned, it proved to be one of the most successful yet, particularly for small- and medium-sized businesses, as people got a head start on their Christmas shopping. Amazon revealed that Prime Day 2020 delivered more than a million deals, resulting in the two biggest days ever for third-party sellers, which saw sales surpassing $3.5bn (£2.5bn) across 19 countries – an increase of nearly 60 per cent on the year before.
In 2021 Amazon is expected to deliver its biggest sale yet with more than two million deals and huge reductions on everything from tech and home appliances to beauty and clothing. Here, we take a look at everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2021, from when it is to who can take part and how to find the best deals.
How can I take part?
Amazon Prime Day’s discounts aren’t on offer to everyone who visits the site. Instead, they are exclusively for those who have an Amazon Prime membership.
Membership costs £7.99 a month or £79 for a year, and subscribers are eligible for perks including same-day delivery, over 800,000 free e-books and access to Prime Video and Amazon Music services.
If you’re already a Prime member, you will automatically get access to the deals, but if you’re not yet and want to take advantage of the huge savings on offer, you can sign up for a 30-day trial anytime before the sale begins.
Can students take part?
Students can also take advantage of Amazon Prime Day by signing up for Amazon Student.
Perks of the student subscription, which costs £3.99 a month, include unlimited premium delivery, unlimited reading on any device
There are other benefits too, including exclusive discounts such as 10 per cent off selected fashion products.
If you have a valid email address from a recognised institution to qualify, you can sign up here for a lengthy six-month trial.
How to get a free Prime account for 30 days to use for Prime Day 2021
If you have yet to become an Amazon Prime member but want to get in on the action ahead of the big event, you can sign up for a 30-day trial to gain access to the sale.
While you won’t be charged for the trial period, you will need to inputur card details when signing up, as Amazon automatically converts you to a paid membership after 30 days. But, if you decide to cancel ahead of the trial ending, you won’t be charged, which means you can get free access to the Prime Day event.
What’s different this year?
For Prime Day 2021, Amazon has revealed it will be spending more than $100 million on promotional activities to encourage shoppers to buy from small businesses.
It will be offering more than a million deals from small and medium-sized businesses, along with an initiative that gives Prime subscribers £10 credit to spend during the Prime Day event when they spend £10 on items from small UK businesses between 7 and 20 June. This offer includes products bought from Amazon Handmade and Amazon Launchpad.
Alongside that, the online retailer’s charity initiative, AmazonSmile, will also be donating five per cent of customers’s first Prime Day purchase to their chosen charity – 10 times the normal donation.
Amazon has also confirmed that there will be more than two million deals worldwide to shop, making it the biggest Prime Day event yet.
How can you get the best deals?
As well as assistance from our savvy shopping experts, it’s important to be prepared by adding items you’d like to snap up to your wish list so that, when the time comes, you can sit down for a cup of tea as you checkout with everything already in your basket. Easy peasy.
We’d also recommend you download the Amazon app. This is an easy place to track Lightning Deals, which are only active for a few hours at a time. You can also set up alerts so that you’re pinged when a discount goes live.
What were the best deals last year?
Last year, some of the best deals on Prime Day were on Amazon’s own-brand devices, including the Echo dot, which dropped from £39.99 to £18.99 and the Echo show 5, which was down from £79.99 to £39.99.
In 2020’s sale the Echo show 5 was reduced from £79.99 to £39.99
(Amazon)
Kindles and Fire HDMI sticks saw impressive discounts too. The Amazon Kindle was on sale for £49.99, down from £79.99, while the Fire stick 4K went from £49.99 to £24.99. You can definitely expect similar price drops on Prime Day this year.
Other discounts included savings on TVs, coffee machines, headphones and vacuum cleaners from top brands including Philips, Nespresso, Nintendo, Shark, Samsung, Sony and many more.
Amazon also reported that, outside of electronics and devices, some of the bestselling categories on Prime Day incorporated games and puzzles as people looked for ways to stay entertained during lockdown. Some of the biggest sellers including Jenga (£14.97, Amazon.co.uk), Monopoly (£16.99, Amazon.co.uk) and Guess Who (£16.99, Amazon.co.uk).
Confirmed Prime Day deals 2021
With just days to go until the main event, Amazon has confirmed a selection of deals that will run across the two-day shopping bonanza.
Highlights include an impressive 50 per cent off the Amazon Echo dot 4th generation smart speaker (£49.99, Amazon.co.uk), up to 30 per cent off selected home appliance brands including Shark, Ninja, Hoover, Samsung and Bosch, and up to 35 per cent off smartphones and wearables from Samsung, Garmin and Xiaomi.
If you’re looking for boozy discounts, expect up to 35 per cent off beer, wine and spirits including Jack Daniels and Aviation Gin. Plus, there’s up to 25 per cent to save TVs, soundbars, streaming devices and projectors from Apple, Samsung, Bose and more.
Beauty buffs should prep their wishlists now, as Amazon will be offering up to 30 per cent off products from big-name brands including Elemis, Elizabeth Arden, and This Works, as well as up to 50 per cent off make-up from L’Oreal Paris, Maybelline, Real Techniques.
There are lots of deals to be had and these will be detailed below throughout the 2 day period.