When Is Amazon Prime Day?

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published 3 October 2023

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Bargain hunters know the annual Amazon Prime Day retailpalooza as an opportunity to score a bevy of deals on all manner of merchandise. That's why they eagerly await the two-day event.

But if you missed out on the event this summer, there will be more opportunities for Prime members to save this month. Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days is taking place October 10 -11, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, in several countries including the United States.

Amazon Prime Day dates back to 2015 when it debuted in July to push sales during retail’s usual summer doldrums. At that time it was a novelty (and also just a single day.) But even when Amazon Prime Day was moved to October in 2020 due to pandemic issues, Amazon posted record Prime Day sales and ended up kicking off the holiday shopping season a month early.

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Amazon Prime Day returned to its summer slot in 2021, but in June, not July. And it was another resounding success, culminating in sales exceeding $11 billion. In 2022, Prime Day recorded $12 billion in sales. Not bad!

In 2023, Amazon Prime Day was another two-day extravaganza, taking place on July 11-12, a Tuesday and Wednesday. Prime Day 2023 was the biggest Prime Day event ever for independent sellers. Amazon's 2023 Prime Day recorded just short of $13 billion in sales.

What to expect from Amazon Prime Deal Days 2023

Prime Deal Days has some stepped-up competition from retailers like Walmart and Target. Target Circle Week goes from October 1 through October 7, 2023. Walmart Deals — Holiday Kickoff will start on Monday, October 9 at 7 p.m. ET, with deals running through October 12. Unlike Walmart's sale in July, you don't need to be a Walmart+ member to take part in this sale

In past years, Prime Day has offered its biggest discounts on Amazon’s proprietary gadgets — including Amazon Echo personal assistance devices (“Alexa…”), Fire TV sticks, Kindles and their ilk — plus a flea-market array of baubles, gewgaws and bric-a-brac from other vendors large and small, as well as items from Amazon’s Grocery supermarket options.

That range has led naysayers to dub Prime Day as Amazon’s version of a garage sale: a lot of (sometimes silly) unsold inventory with an occasional true treasure mixed in.

Many Prime Day deals get posted well before the big event with some deals available to be preordered by Prime members. Non-members can sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial to tap the sales on Amazon Prime Day. Not satisfied with the Prime offering? Just cancel your Prime membership before you have to start paying for it.

Bob was Senior Editor at Kiplinger.com for seven years and is now a contributor to the website. He has more than 40 years of experience in online, print and visual journalism. Bob has worked as an award-winning writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., market as well as at news organizations in New York, Michigan and California. Bob joined Kiplinger in 2016, bringing a wealth of expertise covering retail, entertainment, and money-saving trends and topics. He was one of the first journalists at a daily news organization to aggressively cover retail as a specialty and has been lauded in the retail industry for his expertise. Bob has also been an adjunct and associate professor of print, online and visual journalism at Syracuse University and Ithaca College. He has a master’s degree from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a bachelor’s degree in communications and theater from Hope College.

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