Everything You Need to Know About Amazon Prime Day

Prime Day is coming! Amazon's Black Friday-level, mega shopping event typically has more than two million deals globally for Prime members and it's all happening very soon. These discounts go fast, including lightning deals that only last a few hours. (If you're not a Prime member, you can still sign up for a free trial to shop the sale.) Here's everything you need to know about Amazon's Prime Day.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual online shopping event, and it's Amazon's biggest sale of the year. Yep, even bigger than Cyber Monday. It features the lowest prices of the year on everything from decor, housewares, furniture, appliances, tech, electronics, vacuums, home improvement items, outdoor tools, mattresses and so much more.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day typically takes place in June or July, and Amazon just announced that Amazon Prime Day will be July 12-13 in 20 countries this year! According to an Amazon press release, "Amazon’s annual Prime Day event is back this July 12-13, offering Prime members deals on products from top national brands and third-party sellers across categories — from fashion and electronics to toys and home."

What are the best Prime Day deals?

During Prime Day, it's markdown madness as deals are only available until the limited stock sells out. And some discounts are only available on a specific day or 12-hour lighting deal period. TVs, vacuums and other electronics are slashed by 50-60 percent or more. Mattresses are hundreds of dollars off. Brand-name kitchen appliances are typically 30-40 percent off. You can also snag bedding and linens on sale, too, such as Egyptian cotton sheet sets or towel bundles. This year's two-day savings event includes must-have brands such as Beats, Casper, ELEMIS, Levi’s, iRobot and SharkNinja and Amazon’s lowest prices ever on select products from Sony, Bose, and GE. Bookmark this article because our editors will be scouring the deals and updating this article with the best of the best deals across home, electronics, kitchen essentials and more as the deals go live.

Do I have to be a Prime member to shop?

Yes, Prime Day deals are only for Amazon Prime members, but these deals alone are worth the cost of membership. However, if you're not a Prime member yet, you can still sign up for a free 30-day trial just to shop the sale! After a trial, a regular Prime membership costs $14.99 per month, but Amazon does offer special discounted memberships for people who qualify for certain government assistance programs, like EBT and Medicaid, as well as discounts for students. People who qualify for these government assistance programs can enjoy all of Prime’s benefits for just $6.99 per month — half the regular cost of a Prime membership — as well as some exclusive deals and coupons. Designed specifically for higher education students, Prime Student offers all the benefits of Prime for a discounted rate of just $7.49 per month or $69 per year. Prime Student members also enjoy exclusive perks for college life, like a free monthly Grubhub+ Student membership with unlimited delivery, six months free of LinkedIn Premium, and up to 10 percent off flights and hotels through StudentUniverse. College students who haven’t yet tried Prime Student can sign up for a six-month trial.

How can I prepare for Amazon Prime Day?

With limited-time flash deals and products that sell out fast during the sale, it's a good idea to have a game plan in place before Prime Day rolls around as the sale can be overwhelming if you don't. It's a good idea to save items to wish lists in your Amazon account that you're in the market for so you can sign up for deal alerts and quickly check if the items you were already in the market for are discounted once the sale starts. If you're shopping for larger appliances, vacuums, bedding essentials and other items that require more consideration and not something you want to buy on a quick impulse purchase, we recommend reading tested product reviews to narrow down your search leading up to the sale, so that you know what you truly want to buy.

Another way to prepare for Prime Day is through what Amazon is calling Prime Stampcard. From June 16 through Prime Day, Amazon is encouraging Prime members to explore the perks of membership to receive a $10 credit toward their Prime Day order or future Amazon purchase. To participate, members collect a stamp for completing each of four Prime activities: stream Prime Video, listen to Prime Music, borrow a Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited book or add one to their library, and make a Prime-shipping eligible purchase. Learn more about this promotion and start collecting stamps.

How can I support small businesses on Amazon?

From June 21 through July 11 leading up to Prime Day, for every $1 spent on eligible small business products, customers will receive a chance to win prizes. In the U.S., prizes include a pre-game experience and tickets to Super Bowl LVII, VIP passes to music experiences in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, tickets to a special New York City screening and cast meet-and-greet for Prime Video’s upcoming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and a VIP trip to Amazon’s first-ever clothing store, Amazon Style, near Los Angeles. Plus, hundreds of thousands of sweepstakes entrants globally will have a chance to win Amazon gift cards. Learn more about the sweepstakes and see the official rules.

Deals to Shop While You Wait for Prime Day

While we anxiously await Prime Day 2022 to drop, we've got our eyes glued to the Amazon deals page. And there are already seriously good sales to shop as some brands have issued early Prime Day markdowns. Take a look at our best buys below and pounce on these markdowns.

KITCHEN APPLIANCES + ACCESSORIES

Whether you're in need of new cooking essentials or some fun appliances for summer, there are some serious savings on kitchen gear, from knives to appliances. This nifty countertop ice maker is 35 percent off right now and the perfect item for patio entertaining.

VACUUMS

We typically group vacuums with other electronics, but there are so many deals on vacuums right now that we had to break it out into its own category. Whether you're looking for a robot vacuum, a cordless stick vacuum or a handheld cleaner for the car, there are already major savings on all the top brands, from Bissell to iRobot.

Amazon is also making it easier for Prime members to identify which products are from small business brands and artisans with a new small business badge. Learn more and shop curated collections, including items from Black-owned, woman-owned, and military family-owned small businesses.

ELECTRONICS + TECH

There's a little bit of everything on sale in the tech category, from big to small. We spotted these Bose noise-canceling headphones for more than $50 off! And if you've been on the fence about buying a new smart TV, we spotted this 65" for 40 percent off. With $300+ in savings, you could also afford a new soundbar! This is your sign to add to your cart.

MATTRESSES + BEDDING

Did you know you can buy Casper mattresses on Amazon? Yes! And now is a great time to buy because Casper has slashed prices on every size and style, from twin to king. If you're about to start shopping for dorm essentials, now is the best time to snag a twin XL mattress on sale.

FURNITURE + DECOR

You might not think of Amazon when shopping for furniture and decor, but there are so many rugs with deep, deep, deep discounts on sale such as this jute area rug.

OUTDOOR FUN + LAWN EQUIPMENT

Summer means fun in the sun and more lawn maintenance. If you're in need of outdoor equipment, you can snag several essential tools like lawn mowers, pressure washers and more on sale. We spotted this top-rated Sun Joe pressure washer for just over $100!

OUTDOOR FURNITURE

Summer also means more time outside, and you won't believe the deals Amazon already has on outdoor patio furniture, from beautiful wood benches, side tables and even coffee tables under $100 to this gorgeous outdoor rocking chair for $150!