Amazon 'Primed' for Holiday Season With Early Deals

E-comm leader announces Prime Early Access Sale set for Oct. 11-12

9/26/2022

Amazon is kicking off the holiday buying season with a new Prime Early Access Sale in October.

Amazon is getting a jump on its already-popular pre-holiday promotions, announcing a new two-day global shopping event for Prime members starting at 12 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Oct. 11 and continuing through the end of the day on Oct. 12.

This is the second Prime Day event in the past few months, following a successful similar event in July. During the early access sale in October, the retail giant will provide deals “hundreds of thousands of deals,” including savings from brands such as Peleton, New Balance, Murad and more.

In a move that harkens back to eagerly-anticipated print catalogs from major retailers, Amazon is sharing an inaugural Top 100 list of gift-able items for the season across several categories and publishing its annual gift guide for toys and home goods, now posted online. Amazon's first-ever Top 100 list will include a curated selection from manufacturers such as Hasbro, KitchenAid, Samsung and iRobot, among others, the company reported.

“We are so excited to help Prime members kick off the holiday season with Amazon’s new Prime Early Access Sale — an exclusive opportunity for members to get deep discounts on top brands we know they are looking for this time of year,” said Jamil Ghani, VP of Amazon Prime. “And members can start enjoying exclusive Prime benefits and offers now, plus find gift ideas for the family with our holiday gift guides and this year’s Toys We Love list.”

Shoppers can prepare for the Oct. 11 and 12 sales blitz by visiting the Prime Early Access Sale event page on the Amazon app, where they can sign up for deal alerts related to their recent searches and viewed items. Once such items go on sale, members will receive push notifications. Deal lists can also be created on the Amazon Alexa app and device.

Meanwhile, Amazon is offering other services to Prime members as the busy holiday season approaches. Through Prime, U.S. members can get a free one-year membership trial to Grubhub+, which includes unlimited free deliveries on orders over $12 along with exclusive offers and awards.

Prime membership is available for $14.99 or $139 per year. Qualifying recipients of government assistance, including SNAP EBT and Medicaid, can enjoy all of Prime for just $6.99 per month, and college students can enroll for $7.49 per month, or $69 per year.

Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.