The pandemic has canceled so many things, but it couldn't kill Amazon Prime Day.
That means it's time to mark your calendar for the day that has could be bigger than Black Friday this year, especially with most brick-and-mortar stores closed on Thanksgiving night.
Prime Day is normally two days of crazy deals in July. But pandemic shortages and summertime delivery delays forced Amazon to postpone it to Oct. 13 - 14.
And that makes it much more of a holiday event, as opposed to a mid-summer event that was designed to stir up sales during a slow time of year.
Shelly Norman, of Clermont County, will be ready, as she has already started her holiday shopping on Amazon.
"As a matter of fact, I ordered from Amazon yesterday, and it should be coming in today," she said.
Amaya Levell will also be shopping Amazon this holiday season.
"I'm gonna do online, because it is safer that way," she said.
DealNews.com's senior staff writer Julie Ramhold expects many shoppers to use Prime Day in place of Black Friday. And she says that will be a very smart idea.
"I would advise people to make it a holiday shopping event if they are not already," she said. "I do think Amazon will be trying to emphasize that, given that we have seen shipping delays all year."
Ramhold expects big markdowns on all Amazon related items, such as...
- Alexa/Echo devices
- Ring doorbells and cameras
- Fire sticks
- Kindles
- Amazon Basics merchandise
Plus, says look for markdowns on lots of household items from the Instant Pot to more obscure things.
"We're used to seeing random home and garden items on sale, whether it's an egg cooker for the kitchen or rug for the kitchen or something like that," she said.
Other retailers may start holiday sales, too
One great thing about Amazon Prime Day is that even if you are not an Amazon Prime member, and you have no plans to take part, competitors like Walmart, Best Buy and Target should also be staging sales of their own.
"They do normally pay attention to Prime Day," Ramhold said. "Though this year it's so strange because it's gonna be a tossup."
So it is possible many stores will kick off holiday sales that week, as they stretch out Black Friday over two months.
But Amazon is not waiting andis already running early Prime Day dealsevery day the next two weeks.
So with most stores closed Thanksgiving night this year, continued postal service delays and many items still on back order, Prime Day could be a great time to do much of your holiday shopping so you don't waste your money.
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