By Tracey Dowdy
Amazon’s Prime Day is coming up next month, though Amazon has yet to give us an exact date. They have, however, teased us with what’s going to be on sale and have given us an idea of what price drops we can look forward to.
Prime Day typically includes discounts on more than one million items, including intermittent “Lightning Deals” for Prime members. Last year, thanks to the pandemic, many of the deals were focused on making the most of being quarantined. “This year, we’ve swung back in the other direction,” Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com. Consumers can expect significant discounts on items related to entertaining and traveling, including backyard games, TVs, headphones, exercise gear, and Amazon devices like the Kindle, Fire TV streamer, or Ring video doorbell.
Only Amazon Prime members can take advantage of Prime Day deals (month-to-month membership for about $13 or $119 annually). Your membership also includes access to free music, movies, and e-books, as well as discounts on groceries and sundries at Whole Foods.
Ramhold advises scrolling through upcoming deals and marking the items you are interested in as “watching,” so you’ll receive a notification when the price drops. Once the item goes live, add it to your cart immediately, as some Lightning Deals can sell out quickly. You have 15 minutes to decide whether to complete your purchase. Another option is to create a wish list, and Amazon will alert you if it becomes part of a Prime Day deal.
If there is a specific product that you really want 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.
According to a recent spending survey by LendingTree, nearly half of all consumers reported they are so eager to shop that it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll go into debt this summer, their survey of more than 2,100 Americans found.
Jack Kleinhenz, the chief economist at the National Retail Federation, says, “This feel-better situation will likely translate into higher levels of household spending. 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. That’s good news for retailers and for consumers.
Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits, and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.