Amazon's October deals week is back next week

Sale Returns

Amazon confirmed that its Prime Big Deal Days event will run October 7-9, reviving last year's fall discount window, The Verge reported. The 48-hour shopping event marks Amazon's second major Prime member exclusive sale of 2025, following July's traditional Prime Day, and represents the company's strategic effort to capture early holiday shopping momentum before competitors launch Black Friday campaigns.

The two-day sale will open a few hours earlier for East Coast shoppers before gradually rolling west. Amazon will begin the event at 3:01 a.m. EDT on October 7, with West Coast customers gaining access at 12:01 a.m. PDT—a staggered rollout designed to manage server load and create urgency as deals sell out before reaching later time zones.

The event builds on the success of last year's inaugural Prime Big Deal Days, which generated an estimated $6.3 billion in sales over two days, according to Adobe Analytics. Amazon has not disclosed official revenue figures but confirmed that the 2024 fall event exceeded internal projections and drove Prime membership sign-ups comparable to traditional Prime Day in July.

Retail industry analysts view the October event as Amazon's answer to the compression of holiday shopping seasons and changing consumer behavior. "Shoppers increasingly want to spread holiday spending across multiple months rather than concentrating it in November and December," explained Sucharita Kodali, retail analyst at Forrester Research. "Amazon is capitalizing on that trend by creating a second tentpole shopping event that feels less frenetic than Black Friday."

The timing also serves Amazon's logistical interests, allowing the company to smooth delivery volumes across October and November rather than facing the concentrated surge that historically overwhelms fulfillment networks during Thanksgiving week. This distribution strategy has become increasingly important as Amazon competes for limited warehouse labor and delivery capacity with other major retailers.

What to Expect

Company officials teased laptop, smart-home, and home-goods bundles similar to July's Prime Day but with deeper markdowns on devices nearing refresh cycles. Amazon's own hardware, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Echo smart speakers, and Ring security devices, will feature discounts ranging from 40-60% off list prices—among the steepest reductions Amazon offers annually.

The Verge said Amazon is also courting small brands with invite-only deals that go live at staggered times. This "Lightning Deals" format creates urgency by offering limited quantities at specific times, with sellers paying Amazon premium placement fees in exchange for visibility during high-traffic hours. Small and medium-sized sellers view these placements as crucial opportunities to acquire customers and build brand awareness, though the costs can be substantial.

Categories expected to feature prominently include:

• Consumer Electronics: Laptops from HP, Dell, and Lenovo; wireless earbuds and headphones from Sony, Bose, and Apple; smart TVs from Samsung and LG with discounts up to 40% on 2024 models as manufacturers clear inventory for 2026 lineups.
• Smart Home: Video doorbells, security cameras, smart thermostats, and voice assistants, with particular focus on Matter-compatible devices that work across multiple ecosystems.
• Kitchen Appliances: Instant Pot multi-cookers, Ninja blenders, and air fryers—consistently popular categories during Amazon sales events.
• Fashion and Apparel: Expanded from previous years with brand partnerships including Levi's, Champion, and Calvin Klein offering exclusive designs available only through Prime Big Deal Days.
• Home Improvement: Power tools from brands like DeWalt and Craftsman, plus home organization systems as consumers prepare for holiday hosting.

Amazon has also hinted at deeper integration with its advertising business, allowing brands to sponsor "deal collections" that curate related products into themed shopping experiences. This merchandising innovation aims to increase basket sizes by encouraging customers to discover complementary products rather than focusing on single discounted items.

Artificial intelligence plays an expanding role in deal personalization, with Amazon's recommendation algorithms analyzing browsing history, wish lists, and purchase patterns to surface customized deal notifications. The company has refined these systems to reduce alert fatigue while increasing conversion rates on personalized recommendations.

Retail Competition

Big-box rivals plan overlapping promotions; Target and Best Buy both announced flash sales aimed at catching consumers before they lock in Amazon carts. Target's "Deal Days" will run October 6-8, deliberately starting one day earlier to intercept shoppers, while Best Buy confirmed a "48-Hour Flash Sale" spanning the same October 7-8 window with price matching guarantees.

Analysts told The Verge that inflation-weary shoppers may use the event to check off early holiday gifts rather than splurge on impulse buys. Consumer sentiment data shows that while household finances have stabilized compared to 2023's peak inflation period, shoppers remain cautious about discretionary spending and increasingly strategic about timing major purchases around promotional events.

Walmart has countered with "Deals of Desire" running October 7-11, extending its event to capture post-Amazon shoppers who missed desired deals or want to comparison shop. Walmart's strategy emphasizes in-store pickup options and grocery bundle deals that leverage its physical store network—an advantage Amazon cannot match despite its Whole Foods acquisition.

Direct-to-consumer brands including Warby Parker, Allbirds, and Casper have formed an informal coalition to run coordinated promotions during the same period, attempting to redirect traffic from Amazon toward their own websites with messaging emphasizing quality and direct customer relationships over marketplace commodity shopping.

Payment processors Klarna, Affirm, and PayPal have all announced enhanced buy-now-pay-later promotions timed to Amazon's event, recognizing that flexible payment options significantly influence purchase decisions for big-ticket electronics and furniture. These financing partnerships give retailers tools to compete with Amazon's own payment services and Store Card offerings.

International retailers including Chinese cross-border platforms Temu and Shein are also launching overlapping promotional events, though their focus remains on ultra-low-price apparel and accessories rather than direct competition with Amazon's electronics-heavy lineup. These platforms appeal to particularly budget-conscious consumers willing to accept longer shipping times for maximum savings.

How to Prepare

Deal trackers recommend setting price alerts now and double-checking historic lows with price-monitoring tools. Services like CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, and Honey allow shoppers to view price histories and identify whether advertised "deals" actually represent genuine discounts or merely returns to regular pricing after artificial inflation.

Consumer advocates advise turning off one-click purchasing to avoid accidental orders as push notifications spike. The combination of lightning deals, limited-time offers, and algorithmic urgency messaging can trigger impulsive purchases that buyers later regret, particularly when notification volumes overwhelm decision-making processes.

Expert shopping strategies include:

• Create prioritized wish lists: Adding desired items to Amazon wish lists enables price tracking and ensures faster checkout when deals go live, reducing risk of missing time-limited offers.
• Set budgets by category: Predetermined spending limits prevent the "deal high" that causes shoppers to exceed intended budgets when confronted with multiple attractive discounts.
• Research authentic reviews: Use third-party services like Fakespot or ReviewMeta to assess review authenticity, as deals often feature heavily reviewed products that may have manipulated ratings.
• Compare total costs: Factor in shipping speeds and membership requirements; sometimes non-Prime retailers offer comparable prices without requiring annual subscription fees.
• Check return policies: Verify that discounted items qualify for standard return windows, as some marketplace sellers impose restrictions on heavily discounted merchandise.

Consumer protection organizations recommend screenshot price displays and confirmation emails immediately after purchase, as disputes about advertised pricing occasionally arise when deal prices revert to regular pricing faster than Amazon's systems update.

Cybersecurity experts warn that Prime Big Deal Days attracts increased phishing attempts, with scammers sending fraudulent emails purporting to offer exclusive deals or requiring account verification. Amazon never requests passwords or payment information via email, and all legitimate deals appear on the company's official website or mobile app.

What Happens After

Amazon is expected to segue into its holiday returns policy later in October, giving buyers more time to exchange items purchased during the event. The extended return window, typically announced in late October, allows purchases made during Prime Big Deal Days to be returned through late January—providing flexibility for gift-givers uncertain about recipient preferences.

Historical patterns suggest that Amazon uses Prime Big Deal Days as a testing ground for Black Friday and Cyber Monday strategies, analyzing which products resonate, which promotional formats drive highest engagement, and which technical systems require optimization before the holiday shopping peak. Teams across Amazon scrutinize event performance metrics to refine November and December campaigns.

The event also serves as a crucial customer acquisition opportunity for Amazon's subscription services beyond Prime. Many shoppers who sign up for Prime to access deals continue subscriptions afterward, while promotional trials for services like Amazon Music Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible often convert to paid subscriptions at higher rates when initiated during major shopping events.

For third-party sellers on Amazon's marketplace, Prime Big Deal Days performance can make or break annual revenue targets. Successful sellers use the event to clear slow-moving inventory, launch new products, and acquire customers who can be retargeted with full-price offers later. The event has become so important to marketplace economics that many sellers hire specialized consultants to optimize deal submissions and advertising strategies.

Economic indicators suggest that Prime Big Deal Days has measurable impact on October retail sales nationwide, with Adobe Analytics projecting that the 2025 event could drive $7-8 billion in total online spending across all retailers as competitors match Amazon's promotional intensity. This represents a significant pull-forward of holiday shopping that reshapes traditional November-December retail concentration.