Amazon Prime Day 2020: Sale date confirmed for 13 and 14 October

Amazon Prime Day is one of the internet’s biggest shopping events, offering customers an array of discounts on everything from TVs and tablets to coffee machines.

While the sale usually takes place in July each year, due to coronavirus, the online retailer postponed its Prime Day 2020 event to later in the year.

For 2020, the sale has been confirmed to run from 00:01am 13 October to 23:59pm 14 October, with more than one million deals available from big-name brands including Philips, Toshiba, Lego, Nintendo, Samsung, Under Armour, Sony, Le Creuset, to name just a few.

The two days of deals will also be encouraging customers to shop with small businesses this year.

Prime members who spend £10 with select small businesses from 28th September to 12 October, will earn £10 to spend on Prime Day.

It comes after a difficult year for small businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes after a difficult year for small businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. “After a tough six months for everyone, we’re committed to making this the most successful Prime Day ever for small businesses,” said Doug Gurr, Amazon UK Country Manager.

Last year, the retailer said it sold more than 175 million products, dubbing the sale the “largest shopping event in Amazon history,” as it surpassed results from the previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday events combined, and this year is set to be bigger than ever.

Here, we detail everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2020, from when it is to who can take part and how to find the best deals.

Our IndyBest team hand-picks every deal we feature. We may earn some commission from the links in this article, but our selections have been made independently and without bias. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

What is Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual flash sale that sees the retailer reduce prices on a range of products.

The first Prime Day took place in 2015 and lasted 24 hours, with each year following a similar procedure.

However, in 2019 the sale was extended to last 48 hours, giving shoppers more time to sift through the extensive array of deals.

When is Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day typically takes place in July, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic it was delayed.

This year, it will run from 00:01am 13 October to 23:59pm 14 October, with more than a million deals available from big-name brands including Philips, Toshiba, Lego, Nintendo, Samsung, Under Armour, Sony, Le Creuset.

It’s ideal for a spot of early Christmas shopping or to tick of those big purchases you’ve been putting off, such as a vacuum cleaner or new TV.

How can I take part?

Amazon Prime Day’s discounts aren’t on offer for everyone who visits the site but is 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 a member 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 to Amazon Student.

Perks of the student subscription, which costs £3.99 a month, include unlimited premium delivery, unlimited reading on any device i.e. an iPad or Kindle, access to Prime Video and unlimited photo storage.

There are other benefits too, including 10 per cent off selected fashion products and £30 off select Samsung galaxy tablets and earbuds.

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 2020

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 input your card details when signing up, as Amazon automatically converts you to a paid membership after the 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.

How can you get the best deals?

The IndyBest team will be rounding up the best deals to help you navigate the array of discounts that will be on offer, so make sure to check back here.

Another way to ensure you get the best deals is to download the Amazon app. This will give you a head start, as you will be able to track Lightning Deals – discounts that are only available for a few hours at a time – and set up alerts that will notify you when certain deals go live.

Deals live now

Some savings are already on offer for Prime members including the Nescafe dolce gusto genio s automatic coffee machine (was £89.99, now £59.99), the Philips series 5000 trim-n-flow pro technology hair clipper (was £53.99, now £34.99) and the Toshiba 800 w 20 L microwave oven (was £66.11, now £55.99).

Other deals are across Amazon home devices and security, such as the Amazon eero 3-pack home Wi-Fi system (was £249, now £149.60) and the Blink mini indoor smart security camera (was £34.99 now, £24.99).

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 Plus (2nd Gen) which dropped from £139.99 to £99.99 and the Echo (2nd Gen) which was down from £89.99 to £54.99.

Kindles and Fire HDMI Sticks saw impressive discounts too. The Amazon Kindle was on sale for £49.99, down from £69.99, while the Fire stick 4K went from £49.99 to £24.99.

Other discounts included 50 per cent off selected coffee machines, 76 per cent off certain headphones and half-price vacuum cleaners.

For more deals and discounts, read our guide to Black Friday and all the retailers expected to take part

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