Yahoo Finance When is Amazon Prime Day 2018 and what time does it start?
If you like a bargain then Amazon Prime Day, the online retail giant's annual one-day flash sales event, is perfect for you. Amazon are yet to announce what day the sales will fall, but if recent history is anything to go by it's likely to be the week commencing July 9.
Amazon will offer deals on thousands of products over a 30-hour period, available only to members of its subscription service. In 2017 Amazon Prime Day was a huge success, with sales growing a massive 60pc on the previous year.
Ahead of the event, check out our guide to preparing yourself for the big day, including tips on how to find the best discounts and some predictions based on last year's best deals.
Here is everything you need to know about the Black Friday-style discount day.
When is Amazon Prime Day and how long does it last?
The exact date of Amazon Prime Day hasn't been revealed yet. Last year Amazon waited until early July to announce the event, which took place over 30 hours on July 10 and 11.
The first Prime Day took place on July 15 2015, the anniversary of the founding of the company by chief executive Jeff Bezos.
Looking at previous years, the sales are likely start on the evening of July 9 and run to midnight on July 10..
What is Amazon Prime Day and how does it work?
Prime Day is a flash sales event held by American online retail giants Amazon. To participate, users must be signed up to Amazon Prime, the £79-a-year subscription service that gives users access to free, unlimited one-day delivery on many items, as well as Amazon Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading and early access to deals.
If you're not yet a member, click here for a free 30-day trial for a free 30-day trial (for students, the trial period is six months).
Typically, there are two types of deals:
Those that last all day
Lightning deals, which are activated at a particular time and only last until the stock of that particular product has run out.
You'll have to be on the ball, though - new deals are released as often as every five minutes and many sell out extremely quickly.
Are deals only available in the UK?
No. In 2017, Prime Day took place in 13 countries: the US, UK, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium and Austria. As the sales event is a huge success for the e-tailer, there may well be more in 2018.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a subscription service that gives you a host of benefits for an annual fee of £79 per year (or £7.99 per month).
Benefits include:
Free, unlimited one-day delivery on millions of items
Access to thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video
Two million songs with ad-free streaming on Prime Music
A massive archive of books, magazine and comics with Prime Reading
Exclusive discounts and memberships to online video game streaming site Twitch
Unlimited photo storage
Early bid access to limited time Lightning Deals
Prime Now refers to items that can be delivered within two hours. It is currently only available in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Portsmouth and Sheffield.
What are the levels of Amazon Prime membership?
Prime: For £79 per year (or £7.99 if paying monthly) you can get access to all of the levels of Prime membership, from shopping to videos and music.
Prime Video: This membership level offers unlimited video and film streaming on Amazon's video service.
Amazon Family: This type of membership includes all the benefits of Prime membership, as well as an additional 20pc off nappies and baby food.
Amazon Student: This is a great deal (if you're lucky enough to qualify). For just £39 per year users can get all the benefits of Amazon Prime, plus exclusive student deals – and the first six months are a free trial.
What other services do Amazon offer?
Amazon has continued to grow exponentially over the past few years and is the fourth most valuable company in the world, according to Statista. Its CEO Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. Last year, Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.7bn.
Each year, Amazon is growing its offerings – which means its other services might also be affected by Prime Day. Here are the ones to keep an eye on, in case they see discounts on the day (or announcements about their launch are made).
Amazon Fresh: A grocery delivery service, operating much like an online supermarket. For a monthly fee of £3.99, Prime members can get a Fresh Add-on, providing benefits such as free delivery on orders over £40.
Amazon Go: Amazon Go has launched in Amazon's hometown of Seattle, offering a novel way to shop. It's a checkout-free store where there are no queues or cash transactions involved. To enter the shop, users must download an app, which then links to your Amazon account and credit card. Cameras and pressure plates detect when you've picked up an item, and deducts if you put it back. All you have to do then is walk out.
Amazon Prime Air: A drone-based delivery system yet to be launched.
