What to Buy (and Skip) on Amazon Prime Day 2024 – Morning Journal

The logo of e-commerce company Amazon Prime is seen on a parcel in Manta, northwestern Italy, March 29, 2024. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

By Tommy Tindall | NerdWallet

Amazon Prime Day falls on July 16-17. It’s similar to Black Friday, but falls in July and for some, it means less shopping obligation.

While some may already be thinking about buying holiday gifts, most are likely shopping for themselves, said Jane Boyd Thomas, a professor of marketing at Winthrop University.

Retailers’ increased focus on summer deals has changed Google trends. “In recent years, searches for ‘deals’ have spiked in mid-July, even surpassing searches for ‘vacation,’” Sean Scott, Google’s vice president and general manager of consumer shopping, said in a blog post announcing Google’s improved shopping tools. The updated “deals destination” is designed to make it easier to find deals across retailers in one place.

Whether you start with Amazon or Google, the key is to catch deals on planned purchases rather than impulse buys. Keep this list in mind when deciding what to buy (or skip) on Prime Day.

Buy: Electronics

Thomas says electronics will be the top category for Prime Day deals, which will likely include Apple products. She chuckled as she mentioned the Apple Pencil, which she recently paid full price for ($129.99), only to later hear that it would likely be cheaper on Prime Day. In fact, it’s $79 on Amazon at the time of this writing, ahead of Prime Day. The AirPods Pro (2nd generation) earbuds dropped to $189.99 in late June (Apple’s price is $249, but Amazon regularly sells them for $199) and could drop during the sale.

Select TVs, soundbars, speakers, and other headphones should also see big discounts. Amazon is already advertising an invite-only deal of up to 40% off Sony wireless headphones. Just keep in mind that limited quantities of the hottest products may mean you have to act fast.

My experience: I dropped the “bar” last Prime Day. I had been lusting after a particular Sony soundbar model that normally costs around $300 year-round. I saved up and waited for the price to drop. It dropped $100 on Prime Day. But instead of buying it, I hesitated for hours, and when I did decide to buy it, not only was it out of stock on Amazon, but it was also out of stock at other retailers. I settled on a similarly priced but worse model.

This year’s sale will begin promptly at 12:01 a.m. PDT on July 16 and end at 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 17. The specific start and end times encourage people to make impulse purchases out of fear of missing out, Thomas says.

But you can prepare for Prime Day now by making a list and checking your budget to avoid overspending at a crucial time.

Buy: Car Seats & Strollers

Prime Day is likely to bring some great deals on baby items. NerdWallet has been tracking the prices of several popular items during each major sale in 2023. The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible Car Seat we tracked often went on sale, but it hit its lowest observed price during last year’s July Prime Day, at $139.99. At the time of this writing, it’s selling for $199.99 on Amazon.

Thomas, a young grandmother, must prepare to transport her granddaughter.

The car seat base she needs usually costs about $160, she says. “I’m going to add it to my wish list and set up notifications that I can set on Amazon to let me know when it goes on sale,” she adds.

Strollers, cribs, playpens, and other typically pricey baby products can all go down in price during Prime Day. Last year, for example, the Baby Jogger City Mini GT2 All-Terrain Stroller was 40% off during Amazon’s sale.

Buy or Skip: Amazon Devices

Buying an Amazon device during Amazon’s biggest sale of the year is a no-brainer, but only if you’re in the market. Fire tablets and TV sticks, Kindles and Echo devices are likely to be marked down. And many of Amazon’s gadgets have pretty good reviews.

Of course, you can also wait. The next big Prime sale, which is expected to happen in October, will almost certainly bring similar prices to Amazon’s own tech.

My experience. Last year, I skipped both July Prime Day and October’s Prime Big Deal Days, but I still managed to find a great deal on the latest smart display, the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen), which didn’t come out until late in the year. I ordered mine on December 28, 2023, for $60 off the regular price. It’s a good reminder that products are refreshed often and prices are constantly changing.

Buy: Toys

If you’re prepared enough to make a gift list in July and have kids to buy gifts for, creative sensory toys can be a good option. One of the best Prime Day deals NerdWallet spotted last year was the Magna-Tiles Classic 100-Piece Set . Kids love them, and the set is down to $82.99 on Prime Day. The same set is $119.50 on Amazon at the time of this writing.

Thomas believes Amazon tends to lower prices on products that are already very popular to attract people.

“I would look at things like kids’ gifts, scooters, Lego sets, because those are things that sell quite well for them all year round,” she says.

Buy or Skip: Small Appliances

Kitchen gadgets are fair game for Prime Day deals, but NerdWallet’s research shows that Cyber ​​Monday is better for deals on small appliances like air fryers, blenders, and coffee makers. And for those items, don’t let Amazon be your only stop. Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and other retailers will be competing.

You can also wait and catch a deal later if you’re not ready to buy yet.

My experience: While at a friend’s for dinner late last year, I couldn’t help but notice the Instant Vortex Plus 6-quart XL Air Fryers they were using to cook a meal. The food was good, and the stainless steel looked elegant. I got home, opened Amazon, and saw the same model for $74.15, about $55 less than the regular price. I grabbed it on November 5, 2023, a random Sunday. Moral of the story: Good sales happen all year long, if you’re not ready to buy now.

Online Shopping Nerd Reminders

Doing the necessary research on products and prices should come naturally to you by now. But here’s a reminder on how to shop smart online.

Find out the current rate: If you shop on Amazon, you can quickly and easily use a price tracking site like camelcamelcamel to check price history over time. Paste the Amazon URL into the camelcamelcamel search bar to see the lowest, highest, current, and average prices.

Set bounce price: Once you know what the lowest price is and how often the item goes on sale, you can use your budget to set a price threshold. When the price drops below that line, you give yourself permission to buy.

Save for later and set alerts: Set up alerts to help track prices. In the Amazon app, you can set up deal alerts for items you’re interested in by going to your account section, scrolling down to the “message center,” and tapping deal alerts.

Before you buy, search Google or type “deals stores”: Amazon may be the loudest, but other retailers will be quietly competing with Prime Day. A quick Google search for the specific product you’re looking for will let you compare prices, but you can go deeper with Google’s new “deals destination.” Type the words “shop deals” into the search bar to bring up a carousel of products with recent price drops across the web. Click on a product to see its typical price range based on averages from the past 90 days.

Shopping online is easier than ever, and there are tricks and tools that are sure to help you save. But there’s also the time-consuming and inevitable nature of online shopping. As we hit the peak of summer, don’t let the pursuit of the best deal keep you from the things that matter most. Those things are probably free anyway.

Tommy Tindall writes for NerdWallet. Email: [email protected].

The article What to Buy (and What to Skip) on Amazon Prime Day 2024 originally appeared on NerdWallet.