Tips on how to save money while shopping the biggest online sale of the year are very relevant right now. You can still shop!
Amazon’s third annual Prime Day has started and more than 100,000 deals will roll out, with new ones posted every five minutes for another 24 hours. The flash deals are available to subscribers to Amazon’s Prime membership, which costs $99 a year. You can opt for a 30-day free trial here.
If you’re hoping to get popular products during the sale, here are a few tips how to save money while bargain hunting.
Let AI be your personal shopper
Amazon is investing more than ever in artificial intelligence technologies, and consumers are in turn seeing more highly personalized deals. This year, Amazon let’s Prime members customize their deals based on most-shopped-for themes like shutterbugs and sports enthusiasts.
- Check out: Our List of Handpicked Prime Deals
This is good news for customers looking to save. Instead of going through hundreds of thousands of products you are going to find those that are most right for you based on what you’ve purchased, what you’ve reviewed positively, and what’s in your cart. There are few companies out there that do a better job of finding what you want to buy.
If something you want is sold out, wait 15 minutes
If a product you hoped to buy runs out, or shows it is “100% claimed” don’t be afraid to jump on the waiting list to be alerted if it returns. With “lightning deals,” products will be moved to the cart of the next person online if another shopper has them in their cart for longer than 15 minutes. Similarly, if you have a product in your cart, be sure to check out within 15 minutes to clinch in the deal.
Ask Alexa
Amazon is pushing its voice-activated assistant this Prime Day with a number of special deals. In fact, Alexa owners have already had exclusive access to more discounts than other Amazon customers and will continue to throughout the next few days. Prime users who shop using Alexa will be given more discounts and shopping privileges. If you have an Alexa device, you can save money buying coveted items before everyone else. Often the hottest products run out of stock before becoming available to the shoppers without Prime membership.
Give back while you buy
Amazon is often accused of picking on the little guy, but this year 40% off its lightning deals during Prime Day will come from small businesses. Users can also donate a portion of the profit generated from their purchases to a charity of their choice by shopping through Amazon Smile, which donates 0.5% of customer’s purchases to a charity of their choice. This is a good way to shop and make it not just about you on Prime Day, but make it about supporting small businesses and non-profits you’d like to get behind.
Look for deals at Amazon’s competitors
While the best deals from Amazon are reserved for those who have a Prime membership account, there are ways for non-Prime customers to leverage the retail holiday for their own benefit.
- Read more: Amazon’s Prime Day Sale Might Be Upstaged
Best Buy runs sales online and in stores, and online shoppers at Microsoft Store will receive up to 75% off all purchases for a day, proving you don’t have to have a Prime membership to benefit from Prime Day.
