What is Prime Day, exactly? How Amazon’s giant deals day works

Memorial Day is coming at the end of the month, but there’s another shopping event on the horizon that you’ll want to mark your calendar for: Amazon Prime Day 2024. Amazon is bringing its huge sale event back for its ninth consecutive year, and during that time you can count on finding thousands of items at steep discounts for two days.

Whether you’re looking to bring home a new TV, a laptop or some new home or pet goods, Amazon Prime Day 2024 has you covered. We’ve got some helpful information below that can help you prepare for one of the biggest shopping events of the year, including a rundown of what Amazon Prime Day is, when to expect it, and much more.

Be sure to keep checking back here as well as we share our continued Prime Day coverage, including the best deals and savings you’ll find as the sale wears on.

What is Amazon Prime Day 2024?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual sales event for Prime members. During the sale, you’ll find significant discounts across a wide range of products, from electronics and home appliances to everyday home essentials. Prime Day spans multiple days and has been known to feature flash sales, limited-time offers, and special promotions.

Some of the sales and deals on offer include:

• Lightning Deals: These blink-and-you’ll-miss-it deals are up for grabs until the item is sold out.
• Spotlight Deals: These deals are usually on in-demand products and last for a longer period.
• Exclusive Launches: New products are often launched on Prime Day, with Prime members getting priority access.

Amazon usually starts to promote Prime Day well in advance and will often give shoppers a look at some of the deals that will be available before the event officially begins. It’s a good idea to watch for announcements or sign up for notifications directly from Amazon to stay updated on the exact dates and any special offers that might be part of Prime Day 2024. 

When is Amazon Prime Day 2024?

Though Amazon has confirmed that Prime Day 2024 is set to happen this July, the retailer hasn’t given us the exact dates just yet. Historically, though, Amazon Prime Day has taken place during the second week of July. 

Last year, Prime Day took place on Tuesday, July 11 and Wednesday, July 12. We’ll likely see a similar set of dates for this year’s Prime Day, perhaps around Tuesday, July 9 and Wednesday, July 10. 

We’ll update this page as soon as Amazon confirms when you can shop this year’s Prime Day event.

When was Amazon’s first Prime Day?

Amazon’s first Prime Day sale was held on July 15, 2015. It was created to celebrate Amazon’s 20th anniversary and was marketed as a “one-day only event filled with more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members around the globe.” 

The event was so successful that Amazon chose to make Prime Day an annual occurrence. Since then, the shopping holiday has expanded to include new categories and festivities, including free concerts.

What happens on Prime Day?

On Amazon Prime Day, you can shop a wide variety of deals and discounts by heading to Amazon and checking the deals landing page. Many of these deals will go live at midnight. Some of those deals will sell out before the next morning, so this is one sales event that’s worth staying up late for.

You can tap the button below to check out all the deals at Amazon now, ahead of Prime Day 2024.

Why is Prime Day two days long?

Prime Day was conceived as a one-day celebration, but Amazon has since expanded it to two days. This gives Amazon the chance to sell more items and offer additional deals and discounts for anyone looking to browse. More time means customers have a longer window to browse as well, all of which helps to drive sales.

Two days also means customers all over the world and across different time zones can participate, while Amazon has more time to fulfill orders and put other items on sale. Since competitors have begun offering multi-day sales around the same day as Prime Day as well, Amazon has the chance to match what others are doing with a similar duration. (Walmart will often match Amazon pricing during the event, and vice versa.)

Are the same Prime Day deals live for both days?

During Prime Day 2024, deal availability will vary. Some deals will be available for both days, while others will be short-lived or exclusive to one of the two days. It’s best to keep checking back to see which deals are up for grabs when you’re ready to shop, but if you see something you want it’s a good idea to grab it before it goes out of stock. Some of the best deals will sell out in minutes.

Are Prime Day deals only accessible for Amazon Prime members?

Yes, Prime Day deals are exclusively for Amazon Prime members. The sale helps Amazon attract new subscribers and rewards existing ones at the same time. Prime Day is promoted as a part of having a Prime membership, along with faster shipping, streaming media, and more. Prime members also get exclusive discounts. 

If you plan to shop the sale, make sure you have a Prime membership. Amazon is currently offering a 30-day free trial of Prime. After that, Prime membership costs $15 per month or $139 annually. There are discounts available for students and recipients of qualifying government assistance programs (SNAP, Medicaid).

Tap the button below to start your free trial now.

How often does Amazon Prime Day happen?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual event. It happens once per year and it has happened nine consecutive years so far.

Brittany Vincent

Brittany Vincent has been covering gaming, tech, and all things entertainment for 16 years for a variety of online and print publications. She’s been covering the commerce space for nearly a decade. Follow her on Twitter at @MolotovCupcake.