What to Expect for Amazon Prime Day 2026
Rumors are flying about Amazon's big summer sale. Here's what we know so far.
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Amazon Prime Day has taken place nearly every summer since its inception in 2015. More specifically, July has hosted the sale aside from one year when they held it in late June, and in 2020 when they delayed it until October due to the pandemic.
We’re months away from the announcement of the 2026 sale dates, but rumors are flying that Prime Day will once more come early. According to a Bloomberg report, the retail giant is considering a late-June sale this year, amid speculation that Amazon is trying to boost its second-quarter sales. What that means for us, as shoppers, is that we should start thinking about what we might want to buy a little sooner to make the most out of the sometimes better-than-usual prices.
And if you need something sooner than June, Amazon’s Spring Sale is kicking off in just a few days. The event (taking place March 25-31) is only in its second year, and we don’t expect mind-blowing savings. Last year, the discounts weren’t much different from any other day, but there were more items on sale that hadn’t been discounted as often, if ever. So you’re looking at more options at lower-than-usual prices.
The shopping experts at Consumer Reports will monitor shopping trends and product prices ahead of and during Prime Day so we can provide you with as much context as possible about the prices you’re seeing. We want to help you make informed buying decisions so you know exactly how much you’re really saving, whether you’re getting the best deal ever or just saving a little more than usual.
What Is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day started in 2015 and has become an annual summer sale. Prime Day usually takes place in mid-July and lasts for two days, but this year it may be held in late June instead. In 2022, Amazon added a second sale in October to kick off the holiday shopping season, now known as Prime Big Deal Days. And in 2024, yet another sale was born—the Big Spring Sale. This year, the Spring Sale will run for an entire week, taking place March 25-31.
Are There Any Early Deals?
Amazon often has early deals, discounts, and other promotions in the days leading up to its big events. The offers vary from year to year, but almost always include discounts on Amazon’s own lineup of devices. These discounts tend to remain steady through the sale itself as well, and more will likely crop up as the sale draws nearer.
Typically, Amazon unveils a slew of early deals when it announces the sale dates. This usually happens a few weeks before Prime Day, so you’ll want to check back with us in early June to see what’s available.
Consumer Reports will monitor all of Amazon’s sale offerings to bring you the latest deals, so bookmark our Deals Hub and check back often.
What Other Deals Can You Expect?
Prime Day typically brings price drops on popular items like headphones, robotic vacuums, smartwatches, and mattresses, as well as apparel, household goods, back-to-school supplies, electronics, toys, and more. For these big sales, Amazon touts hundreds of thousands of deals, including discounts on popular seasonal and gift items.
With all Amazon sale events, not every discount is guaranteed to be available for the duration of the sale. There are typically Lightning Deals throughout the sale, each with a countdown clock that encourages shoppers to buy quickly before items are gone. They can last anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. Other sales may end without warning if items go out of stock. For more on how to get the best deals, check out our tips.
Consumer Reports’ experts will track all the deals and share the best offers on top-tested products, so stay tuned.
Will Other Retailers Have Sales, Too?
Since Amazon’s first sitewide event, there have been big sales at other major stores coinciding with Prime Day. Many retailers have referred to this as Black Friday in July. But if Amazon pushes its sale to June, others may just keep things simple and refer to their events as summer sales. No matter what name they use, their prices tend to rival Amazon’s, which means you can shop at your preferred store and still get the same or similar pricing on many of the items.
So far, there is no word on whether there will be competing sales, but we suspect this will be the case. We’ll update you as soon as we learn any new information.
Consumer Reports will be keeping an eye on all of these retailers and more to help you find the best prices on quality products.
How Should You Prepare?
If you’re not already a Prime member, you’ll need to sign up to access this sale. (Check the Amazon policy on free trial memberships.) You can add items to a shopping list or even to your cart (you can always move them to “saved for later”) so that you can quickly access them during the sale to see whether they’re available at a discount.
We also recommend checking out anything you might want to buy now. Keep an eye on its price from time to time, especially during the Big Spring Sale. This way, you’ll know if you’re really getting a better deal than usual. We’ve seen Amazon drop existing sales right before Prime Day, only to put them back on sale at the same price and claim you’re saving more than you would on any other day. The earlier you can research your potential purchases, the better equipped you’ll be to make informed decisions and get the most out of this sale.
Consumer Reports will also be tracking all the deals available before, during, and after Prime Day. We’ll compare prices on CR-tested products with each product’s typical cost and monitor prices at other retailers to help you avoid overspending or buying something that doesn’t work well. You can also take a look at CR’s Deals hub for the latest and best deals from Amazon and other major retailers leading up to and during the big sale event.
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