What to buy and what to skip during Amazon Prime Day

As we often remind shoppers, not every deal that’s part of a sale is a good one — and that’s even more true when it comes to events like Amazon Prime Day. Thousands of products are discounted during the 48-hour sale — which takes place on July 11 and 12 exclusively for Prime members — and while you may already have your eye on certain items, knowing which categories typically offer the best savings can help you prioritize, budget and narrow down your shopping list.

SKIP AHEAD What to buy during Prime Day | What not to buy during Prime Day | Prime Day versus July Fourth sales | How to save during Prime Day 2023

To help you prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2023, we talked to experts about what’s worth buying and what to skip. We also rounded up a handful of shopping tips, many of which you can also apply to competitor sales happening around Prime Day, like Target Circle Week and Walmart Plus Week.

Since 2023 is Amazon’s eighth year hosting Prime Day, the best deals during the event are pretty predictable, experts told us. You can expect to find some of the biggest discounts — typically about 40% to 60% off — on Amazon-owned tech brands like Echo, Fire, Ring and Kindle. These brands are known for their free-with-purchase offers, too: For example, you might get a free Echo Dot or smart bulb when you buy a higher-priced item like a video doorbell, says Kristin McGrath, shopping expert at RetailMeNot, a deal-finding and cash back site. There are also usually great deals on personal tech products like fitness trackers, headphones and tablets from reader-favorite brands like FitBit, Apple, Samsung and more.

Beyond tech, products from Amazon’s in-house apparel, home goods and fitness lines will be significantly marked down, McGrath says. Prime Day also serves as a kick-off for back-to-school shopping, according to Vipin Porwal, CEO and consumer savings expert at Smarty. If you or someone you’re shopping for returns to the classroom soon, you can take advantage of sales on school supplies like backpacks, electronics and clothing, as well as snacks with long shelf lives like granola bars.

While it’s easy to get swept up in deals on tech and luxury goods during Prime Day, don’t forget about the practical stuff, McGrath says. Pantry snacks, cleaning supplies, paper goods, pet food and more are commonly discounted during the event, making it a great time to stock up on items you use in your everyday life. McGrath also notes that Prime Day tends to offer strong gift card deals — restaurant and retailer gift cards, for example, have been marked down 25% during past Prime Days.

Some of the best savings opportunities during Prime Day are Lightning Deals, which are limited-time offers that give shoppers a short window to check out and purchase. While you won’t know the Lightning Deals Amazon will offer ahead of time, be aware that you’ll see them popping up during the event. You may want to browse through them in case there’s an item you’re interested in.

Prime Day invite-only deals are a new program Amazon is running this year. Prime members can request an invitation to select deals that are expected to sell out, like specific beauty products, headphones, TVs and more. You can start browsing and signing up for invite-only deals now on Amazon’s Prime Day homepage. Amazon will notify members via email if they get an invitation to shop the deals during Prime Day, which will include instructions on how to purchase items at the exclusive discounted price.

While there are always exceptions, Prime Day is generally not the best time to purchase products in the following categories — if you can wait to buy these items, experts recommend doing so.

• Kitchen and dinnerware: You’re likely to find better discounts during early Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this fall, and you’ll see a larger variety of brands and product types, including higher quality pieces, Porwal says.
• Large appliances and furniture: Labor Day and Black Friday offer more notable sales in these categories, and Porwal says cash back and reward bonuses are more plentiful later on in the year.
• TVs and gaming: Other than deals on Fire TVs (which experts recommend taking advantage of), Black Friday offers better savings opportunities on TVs across brands compared to Prime Day. The holiday shopping season is also the best time of year to buy gaming consoles and related accessories — that’s when you’ll find the most giftable bundles as well.
• Toys: Similar to gaming consoles, it’s best to wait until we get closer to the holiday season to buy toys. However, if you need them sooner, McGrath says Prime Day will offer 20% to 40% off toys for kids across age groups.

Additionally, be wary of deals from unverified sellers or brands you’re not familiar with on Amazon, especially if they don’t have a lot of reviews or mostly negative reviews. “A lot of Prime Day sale items are overstock inventory that merchants are trying to clear out while they have a massive audience,” Porwal says.

Prime Day starts exactly one week after July Fourth — whether you should skip shopping Fourth of July sales and wait for Amazon’s annual event depends on what you’re shopping for, experts told us.

July Fourth sales are generally focused on outdoor and travel items, as well as food and beverages you might need for a gathering during the long weekend, Porwal says. You’re also likely to find lots of discounted summer-related items like air conditioners, grills and patio furniture, plus mattresses and warm weather apparel like swimwear. Prime Day, however, is the best time to shop for affordable tech and items from brands Amazon owns — if you see a July Fourth deal on these types of products, experts recommend waiting to buy.

With that being said, Amazon Prime Day is exclusive to Prime members, and retailers’ July Fourth sales are open to everyone, which may factor into when you decide to shop this month. But even if you’re not a Prime member, remember that plenty of retailers host Prime Day-adjacent sales that all shoppers have access to, and many of them match Amazon’s prices.

The key to saving during Prime Day is planning, which can help keep you focused on what you’re looking for and ensure you’re taking advantage of the best deals possible. Below are a few ways to ensure you’re successful during the event.

Before and during Prime Day, Amazon offers members a handful of exclusive promotions and coupons. For example, Amazon is currently offering Prime members three months of Kindle Unlimited for free and a $5 credit for those who add Venmo (which is now a payment option on Amazon) as their default payment method and use it to shop. Prime members can also get a free two-year Grubhub+ membership now through July 5, and you can save 10% on Grubhub orders of $12 or more (or take a total $10 off an order) with code PRIME10 through July 10.

You’ll usually see these types of promotions on Amazon’s Prime Day homepage in the app or online. Amazon also sometimes offers credits to use on Prime Day if you spend a certain amount while shopping early deals, so keep an eye out for that.

If you don’t have time to scroll through Amazon’s website or app during Prime Day, you can sign up to get notified when products you’re interested in go on sale. You can bookmark a product you’ve had your eye on by either adding it to a wishlist or tapping the “heart” icon on the product page in the Amazon app. This is especially helpful if the deal is only offered for a limited time. You can also create deal alerts based on your Amazon searches and recently viewed items.

Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, can also notify you up to 24 hours in advance of a deal for an item on your wishlist, in your shopping cart or “saved for later.” Additionally, you can ask Alexa to remind you when the deal goes live and give her permission to order the item on your behalf using your account’s default payment and delivery address. Sometimes, shopping through Alexa via an Amazon Echo device gets you exclusive deals and early access to select discounts, McGrath says.

Finally, if you add items you’re interested in buying to your wishlist, you can turn on notifications for your “watched and waitlisted deals” in the Alexa app. This alerts you when Lightning Deals happen for products on your wishlist during Prime Day and otherwise.

Prime Day and comparable savings events are geared toward impulse-shopping, McGrath says — retailers are betting on shoppers feeling tempted by deals and adding more items to their carts than they originally planned. That’s why it’s important to make a shopping list: Beyond keeping you organized, it helps you focus on products you need to buy or have budgeted for and reduces the temptation to spend on non-essential purchases.

To create your shopping list, McGrath recommends first thinking about products you’ve been meaning to buy, restock or replace and prioritize them.Then, consider your wants, like a new pair of jeans or headphones you’ve had your eye on. If you find a great deal or end up spending less than you budgeted for, your “wants” list can help guide the rest of your shopping.

Some people prefer a classic pen-and-paper list, but it may be easier to bookmark links or add items to different wishlists through your Amazon account. For example, you can make “wants” and “needs” wishlists, or create lists for specific product categories like tech or home. While you’re shopping, you can go through your wishlists, see what’s on sale and decide if you want to add it to your cart.

If you’re interested in using a credit card to shop during Prime Day, you may be able to earn points or take advantage of exclusive rewards. Certain cards allow you to earn cash back on Amazon purchases during Prime Day and Prime Day-like sales, and some also offer welcome bonuses or points. The best credit cards for Amazon Prime Day shopping include the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card and Amazon Prime Store Card, according to CNBC Select — the cards offer 5% cash back at Amazon.

“Prime Day is an Amazon-exclusive event, but competitors are eager to tap into the wallets of shoppers who are already online that day looking to spend,” McGrath says. Target and Walmart already announced the dates of Target Circle Week and Walmart Plus Week, both of which overlap with Prime Day. And we expect more retailers to follow Amazon’s lead by offering their own savings events around Prime Day, like Overstock, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Home Depot, Best Buy and more.

As retailers compete for your shopping cart around Prime Day, they tend to “price chase” each other — this means an item sold at multiple retailers will likely have the exact (or almost exact) price tag across the board. In these cases, deciding which retailer to buy from comes down to shipping price and where you can use or gain the maximum amount of rewards points. Also weigh different retailers’ cash back offers.

“If you’re a Prime member, it’s hard to beat fast free shipping, but major competitors like Target and Walmart will still get you stuff fast, and for free if you meet the minimum purchase threshold,” McGrath says. “If you’re a rewards member with another retailer, calculate the value of any rewards you’d get from a big-ticket purchase. And be sure to check if another retailer has a promo code that makes a deal slightly better.”

To help you compare prices, we recommend using tools like Keepa, CamelCamelCamel and Honey. They help you monitor prices before and during the sale, and you can sign up for price-drop alerts on specific products.

At Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

• Kristin McGrath is a shopping expert at RetailMeNot, a deal-finding and cash back site.
• Vipin Porwal is the CEO and a consumer savings expert at Smarty.

Zoe Malin is an associate updates editor at Select who has reported about Amazon since 2020. She wrote Select’s history of Amazon Prime Day, as well as a variety of Amazon Prime Day sales articles. For this piece, Malin researched Amazon Prime Day and referenced Select’s other Amazon coverage.

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