When is Amazon Prime Day and what savings can families expect?

Raising a family is expensive, it's no wonder so many parents are wondering when Amazon Prime Day 2024 is so they can take advantage of lower prices. And the good news is you haven't got long to wait before the deals are unleashed.

When the deals drop, make sure you employ these savvy ways to save when shopping with Amazon and you could get some serious bargains during the sale. You can also check out these tips on how to get the best deals on Amazon Prime Day to make sure you're spending wisely.

With the cost of living still high, Amazon Prime Day could provide a great opportunity to buy what you need at a fraction of the normal price, from Prime Day baby deals that are perfect for new parents to Prime Day toy deals that your kids will love. So if you have sizable items on your shopping list, or are looking for birthday gifts for a loved one it's worth holding fire if you can to see if you can pick it up in the sale and save some money.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2024?

The first Amazon Prime Day of 2024 has now ended. It started on Tuesday 16 July and ended on Wednesday 17 July. It has not yet been confirmed when the next Amazon sale will be. But while the official Prime Day sale only happens once a year, there are always hundreds of Amazon deals available on everything from homeware and tech to toys and baby products.

As always, to benefit from the Prime Day deals, you need to subscribe to Amazon Prime. Members pay a monthly or yearly subscription to receive extra benefits from the online retailer. There are more than 15 million Amazon Prime members in the UK. If you're not already a member, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial to get all of the benefits of the Prime Day sale but none of the financial commitment.

In addition to exclusive access to sales, Prime subscription benefits include next day delivery on eligible items and access to Amazon’s TV and movie streaming services, as well as free Deliveroo Plus for 12 months. You also get a 30-minute head start on other shoppers when the retailer launches one of its flash sales, known as lightning deals.

When was the last Amazon Prime Day?

The last official Amazon Prime Day began on Tuesday 16 July and ended on Wednesday 17 July 2024. The discount event, which began in 2015 to celebrate Amazon’s 20th birthday, was designed to rival the Black Friday sales that take place across retailers at the end of November. It’s certainly proved to be popular with Amazon fans. Back in 2021, the retailer had its most successful Prime Day ever, generating estimated sales of £8bn with 250 million purchases across 20 countries.

In October 2022, Amazon added an extra sale event, the Prime Early Access Sale to the calendar, offering thousands of discounts for 48-hours ahead of the Black Friday sale which takes place towards the end of November each year. The October sale returned in 2023, under a different name - Prime Big Deal Days. It has not yet been confirmed whether the October sale will happen again in 2024.

What kind of deals did we get on Prime Day 2024? 

Prime Day might be over, but it was a veritable feast of deals on everything from baby gear and toys to tech and beauty.

We saw loads of toys on sale, including LEGO, Barbie, Disney and Fisher-Price, as well as major deals on baby gear, including prams, car seats, baby monitors and more, from the likes of Philips, Tommee Tippee and Silver Cross.

Tips for grabbing a great deal during an Amazon sale event

Do your homework

Jane Hawkes, consumer expert at ladyjaney.co.uk, advises: “Anyone new to the sale should get Amazon-savvy. Seasoned Primers will be watching the prices of items they want in the weeks and months leading up to the two-day event so they know if they’re getting a good deal or not when Prime Day comes around.”

If you’ve had your eye on one of the best air fryers to make family life easier, for example, have a look at the current price so that when the sale starts you know if there’s been much of a reduction in the pre-sale price.

Compare Amazon’s sale price with other retailers and on the manufacturer’s own website to make sure Amazon is offering the cheapest deal.

Martyn James, consumer expert, Resolver, says: “I get lots of complaints about items in the sale that turn out to have been more or less permanently discounted on the website throughout the year. Others have questioned whether the items were ever available at the non 'sale' price.” To help determine whether a deal is a really good deal, you can use a website called CamelCamelCamel - simply paste the Amazon link to the product, or the product name, into CamelCamelCamel, and it'll show you the historic Amazon pricing information so you can see how the current price compares.

Sign up for notifications

The best deals will be the quickest to go. Amazon’s lightning sales offer a limited number of discounts on a product for a short period of time so you won’t have long to snap up a bargain.

Make sure you have the Amazon app installed on your phone. You can set up an alert in the Prime Day event page so that when the discount you’re waiting for is applied you’ll receive a notification.

Be mindful

To avoid buying something you may later regret, it helps to do your research beforehand. Read customer reviews, check prices against other retailers, or take a look at our buying guides and reviews, where we've put our extensive product knowledge and first-hand experience to the test to help you decide which products are worth your cash.

How much does Amazon Prime membership cost and is it worth it?  

An Amazon Prime membership costs £8.99 a month or £95 a year. It’s cheaper to pay annually if you can - if you pay monthly, you will pay £107.88 for 12 months membership. If you are not yet a member, you can also sign up for a free 30-day trial to try it out. Just go to the Amazon Prime page to sign up.

Resolver’s Martyn James adds: “If you don’t want to fork out for Prime or you’re worried you’ll forget to cancel it, use a friends’ membership to access Prime Day deals instead. Once you’ve paid for Prime and used it, it’s hard to get a refund.”

Whether Amazon Prime is worth it depends on your own preferences but there are lots of useful and fun benefits included in the price. If you shop a lot on Amazon, the next-day delivery service is convenient and you’ll get a first look at the flash sales as well as access to the Prime Day deals. You’ll also get access to its streaming service with your monthly or annual fee, which is cheaper than Netflix, plus thousands of e-books and Amazon music services.

If you love a cheeky takeaway, then you can also find out how to get free Deliveroo Plus with your Prime membership.