Amazon Prime Day began Monday at 12 a.m. Pacific Time. The online retailer offered more than 1,000,000 items for sale through Tuesday. Although finding great deals is easy, some shoppers may struggle to understand the event.
Marcel Hollerbach is chief marketing officer of Productsup. Productsup helps merchants connect their systems with Amazon and other online retailers. He says that Prime Day is now a shopping event to rival end-of-year holidays shopping season. Amazon has capitalized on a new consumer preference, which he calls "event shopping."
He says, "That craziness that we have twice per year now -- at Christmas or at Prime Day." Amazon's Lightning deals make retail more like entertainment or event shopping.
Amazon offers lightning deals that last for a limited time until the product sells out. These deals will be highlighted during Prime Day but they are not the only way consumers can shop. Knowing what you want and using a few tips to find it is key to successfully navigate the sale.
"The most important thing for everyone is to start your planning and think about how you are going to spend your day, and get the notifications that you need," stated Dan Neiweem (co-founder and principal of Avionos), a digital strategy and marketing firm. "Prime Day falls upon work days so how can you keep track of your needs while not disrupting work?
Neiweem started to plan his strategy the week prior to Prime Day. He said that he has a list of items and will be checking the prices during the event. He says it's important not to buy impulse items.
Here are five tech tools to help you sort through the clutter.
Amazon's mobile app allows you to receive notifications and is an important tool for finding the best deals. You will need to install the app on your phone and enable notifications in the main menu. The main menu can be found by searching the three bars in the upper left-hand corner.
While most shoppers are focused on browsing through the sales on their computers, Amazon's mobile app offers a useful "watch" function.
You can do this by clicking on the "Today's Deals” link at the top left of the app menu and then moving to the "upcoming tab. Click on the deal you wish to view and Amazon will notify you when it starts. This is convenient because you don't have to check the site constantly for new sales.
Amazon claims it will notify consumers about "sneak glimpses" deals, which are early Prime Day deals that are only available to users of its mobile app. Amazon advises that consumers type "sneak peak" in the search bar to ensure they receive their personalized notifications.
Experts recommend that you add the browser extension to Amazon Assistant. This will display an alert with the number of Prime Day deals and a window with the top-trending deals. You'll be notified if Amazon has the exact same product on another site.
Last but not least, take some time to compare prices from other sources.
Sara Skirboll from RetailMeNot, shopping and trends expert, said, "Just because something's on sale doesn't necessarily mean it's a great deal." To track the price changes over time, use a price tracker such as Keepa or Tracker.
CamelCamelCamelCamel is another price-tracking site that others recommend. Don't forget about checking prices at Walmart and Target, as many large retailers will try to lure customers with lower prices than Amazon.
Neiweem notes that Walmart and Target are trying to disrupt Amazon Prime Day.
