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Amazon confirmed in a June press release that its annual Prime Day event will return Tuesday, July 8, through Friday, July 11. And for the first time ever, Prime Day will be a four-day extravaganza two days longer than last year, confirming early rumors that swirled back in March. Now, the event is just a few days away, kicking off next week just as the Fourth of July weekend comes to a close.
Also: Amazon extends July Prime Day and confirms 2025 dates
In June, the retailer also unveiled early offers<!–> for Prime members, like savings on exclusive Amazon products and devices, and relaunched the Prime for Young Adults program, a discounted membership for those 18-24 years of age. Other offers, like Prime-exclusive deals on Kindle Unlimited, Audible, and discounts on services like Grubhub, were also made public.
Get daily deals straight to your inbox during Prime Day when you sign up for ZDNET Recommends, your one-stop newsletter for the sale.
What’s new in 2025?
The most notable change this year is the extension of Amazon Prime Day from a two-day event to a four-day event. That means shoppers can find 96 hours of continuous Prime Day savings. Also new this year is the relaunch of Prime for Young Adults, which offers 6 months of Prime at no cost, a 50% discount thereafter, and other perks like 10% cash back on select products during the event. Prime for Young Adults replaces Amazon’s former student discount program.
Also: Get 50% off an Amazon Prime membership if you’re age 18-24 – here’s how
Amazon also dropped new Prime Day features in its release–>, like the new “Today’s Big Deals”– themed daily deal drops featuring what Amazon calls some of the most exciting deals of the event, exclusive to Prime members. These offers launch daily at midnight PDT and remain available for a limited time, while supplies last.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Prime Day is Amazon’s flagship sale event, and it happens twice a year: July and October. Shoppers can expect tons of savings across nearly every product category on the site, including popular Amazon products. This year, the event is extending from 2 days to 4. Typically, Prime members can shop for new deals that are refreshed throughout the event and partake in exclusive invite-only deals. Plus, market competition with Prime Day has turned the month of July into a true shopping extravaganza that mimics holiday-like sales in the heat of the summer, making it a great time to be a consumer.
I’ll be keeping up with all the best Prime Day news through the end of the sale, so be sure to keep up with our team on ZDNET.com. We’ll be updating the site with all the details you need to shop savvy — including the best deals on products we’ve personally tested and would recommend.
How to prep for Prime Day 2025
As a deals and shopping editor, I can recommend a few things to help you maximize Amazon’s sales. If you want to shop the sale, you’ll need to access a Prime account. In addition to free two-day shipping, membership is easy to set up and usually gives you access to exclusive offers on the site. Plus, you can use a free trial to shop for the best savings without spending a dime on a membership (in most cases, you’ll want to wait to activate a free trial until less than 30 days before Prime Day).
If you end up starting a free trial (or already have Prime), ensure your payment options (like one-click settings and your default delivery address) are correct. This way, you can check out quickly if you need to during the sale. You can also place items in your Amazon cart before sale prices hit for easy tracking, make sure your preferred payment and shipping info is correctly input and saved, and clear your browser cache for maximum performance. If you miss out on a deal, don’t forget that dozens of other retailers are competing with Amazon, and you may be able to scoop it up elsewhere. If all else fails, more sales (and stock) will be back soon.
Also: 7 exciting AI features coming with Alexa+ (and what Amazon devices support it)
Other ways to prepare for spring savings include researching and planning potential purchases, listing want and need items, and setting a budget before sales.
How can I tell if a deal is legit?
It’s not uncommon to come across garbage deals thanks to shady tactics like inflating MSRP prices or misleading marketing. However, thanks to the internet there’s great ways to make sure you’re really saving. As a shopping editor, I like to use Google Shopping’s suite of tools as well as sites like camelcamelcamel, which are designed to track historical prices of products, among other things. In a best case scenario, I always encourage a fair amount of research ahead of time on products you’re really looking to purchase, so it’s likely you are already familiar with the average non-discounted price. But, if you’re making an impulse purchase, or just want to double-check, online shopping tools make it easy.
Also: Google’s new AI shopping tool just changed the way we shop online – here’s why
Impending price hikes due to tariffs could impact how much shoppers expect to save and purchase, though we will have to wait and see.
When asked if shoppers can expect similar savings as in years past amidst tariffs, an Amazon spokesperson told ZDNET in April that the company remains committed to providing customers the lowest prices and extra savings during shopping events like Prime Day.
“We’re pleased by the strong response from selling partners to Prime Day 2025 and look forward to bringing customers discounts across a wide selection of products. As always, Amazon continues to focus on providing customers consistently the lowest prices as well as fantastic extra savings during our deal events across the widest selection of products, with fast, reliable delivery. We’re working with our broad, varied range of valued selling partners in our store to support them in adapting to the developing environment while maintaining low prices for customers,” the Amazon spokesperson said.
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Contrary to rumors circulating on the internet following an April 29 White House press briefing, Amazon says it will not introduce listed tariff prices next to products for sale. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the implication of this tactic “a hostile and political act by Amazon” during the briefing.
Also: Sorry shoppers, Amazon says tariff cost feature ‘Is not going to happen’
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“Prime Day,” as the public knows it, happens twice a year (July and October). Amazon confirmed in mid-June that the first Prime Day event of 2025 will return on July 8-11, extending the annual two-day event into a longer four-day extravaganza.
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The Amazon Prime Day 2025 dates are Tuesday, July 8, through Friday, July 11, 2025.
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Four days in 2025. Traditionally, Prime Day (both in October and July) lasted two days. This year, for the first time ever, July Prime Day will be extended by two days, jumping up to a four day sale event after several years of notoriety as one of the most popular two-day sales.
However, as with all sale events, keep in mind that there will be lingering offers from Amazon and competing retailers. The ZDNET team will cover the best deals on top-tested tech before, during, and after Prime Day, so I’ll keep you posted.
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Amazon announced that its July Prime Day event will return in over 20 countries, including Ireland for the first time. Prime Day 2025 will return to the following countries this year: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the US, and the UK.
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Yes, you will need to be a Prime member to shop this sale event.
If you’re not a Prime member yet, you can join before Prime Day to receive member benefits like free shipping, entertainment, exclusive savings, and more. You can also use a free trial to shop the sale without paying as long as you cancel it within 30 days.
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You can expect many deals spanning nearly every product category, including top brands like Apple, Dyson, and more. Prime Day is also a great time to score some of the best savings of the year on flagship Amazon products like Echo Dots, Fire TVs, and more.
Amazon’s announcement included few details, but the company did share that there will be deals “across more than 35 categories, including electronics, kitchen, beauty, and apparel, and get their shopping done early for Back-to-School, avoiding the lines and enjoying fast, free delivery with Prime.” As always, I’ll share more specific details on offers and savings opportunities when they become available to us (and you).
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Lightning deals are limited time promotions that pop up on products on Amazon. They often have a quantity limite and a time limit that creates urgency to shop. They can be found on tons of categories, but are extra prevalent during busy shopping periods like Prime Day.
The easiest way to find lightning deals is to filter for them. According to Amazon, you can do this easily. “If you’re using the Amazon app, tap the three-line menu at the bottom of the screen and choose the Deals & Savings button. Then tap Today’s Deals and tap Filters. Finally, scroll down and, in the Browse by section, tap Lightning deals,” the company says.
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Invite-only deals are special offers or discounts that are not available to the general public and require an invitation to access. Amazon uses these to help manage demand for popular items and to maintain exclusivity. Amazon says you can sign-up for invite-only deals for Prime Day, though it isn’t guaranteed you’ll be invited.
To complete an invite-only deal, Amazon outlies these steps:
- Request an invite: Find an invite-only Prime deal that you want and request an invite on the product page.
- Check your email: After you request an invite, we’ll email you with information, including when invites will be sent.
- Get the deal with an invite: If invited, you’ll get an email with a link to purchase the deal, and information on how long the deal will be available.
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Prime Day not only slashes prices on many top products on Amazon, but it also sparks generous competition among other major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Costco, Best Buy, and more. This means that you have a good chance of scoring a product you’ve been eyeing for a discount of 30%, 40%, 50%, and even more at Amazon, or nabbing the very same or even better discount elsewhere.
Plus, Prime Day is typically worth it for Amazon-exclusive products like Fire TVs, Fire tablets, Echo devices, Ring doorbells and cameras, Fire Sticks, and more. While sale periods can sometimes be tricky to know if you’re getting the best deal, Prime Day generally does bring legitimate discounts, especially on tech.
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Yes. After a decade of Prime Day sales, other retailers have caught on. Multiple retailers will offer savings that overlap with, precede, or follow Amazon Prime Day. This year, I already saw concurrent sales again from other major competitors like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. Expect many retailers to drop their prices to match Amazon’s when the time comes, and give customers like you a choice of where to buy from. We’ll cover all the best deals on top tech during Amazon’s Prime Day event, including deals surfacing elsewhere.
Also: I’m a shopping editor, and these are the top early anti-Prime Day deals I’d shop now
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Twice yearly.
Amazon is known for its annual Prime Day event in mid-July. Prime Day began in July 2015, on the company’s 20th birthday. However, the retail giant has recently expanded its sale periods to become more frequent. For the past two years, Amazon added a sale called Prime Big Deal Days in October, colloquially dubbed “October Prime Day.” We expect the same for this year.
In 2024, Amazon launched its first-ever Big Spring Sale, a sale which reappeared this past March and ran for two days longer than last.
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Look at you, two steps ahead. Yes, there are loopholes to enjoying the Amazon sale if you aren’t already a Prime member or don’t want to become one permanently. A popular tactic is to sign up for a free 30-day trial, shop your favorite steals, and cancel before the 30 days are up to avoid getting charged.
Also: Get access to Prime Day deals even if you aren’t a member
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If you sign up for a Prime membership to take advantage of the exclusive Prime Day sale, but you don’t want to keep it — make sure to cancel before getting charged. ZDNET’s created a how-to guide to make the process easy for when you need it.
Also: How to cancel your Prime membership
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As a member of the ZDNET staff, I only write about deals myself or a team member would want to buy — devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. I look for deals where products are at least 20% off (or hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is on sale and how frequently it drops.
I also look over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use products in the deals I recommend. These recommendations may also be based on my testing (or testing by another ZDNET expert), plus extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best tech.
Plus, in 2025, ZDNET refined its approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.
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Our top Prime Day deals
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