Prime Day is fast approaching, and techies everywhere seem eager to get their hands on some of the best deals of the year. But are they, in all actuality, the best deals? According to Market Track, we may be getting a bit ahead of ourselves when it comes to announcing these Prime Day prices as the lowest of the low. Sure, they may be the closest thing we’ll get to Christmas in July, but apparently, if you’re really looking to save some money, you probably want to hold out for Black Friday.
According to Market Track’s analysis of Amazon’s 2015 Prime Day prices versus Amazon’s 2015 Black Friday prices, on average, Amazon’s prices were actually 9 percent lower on Black Friday. In fact, research shows that all the categories that were examined featured higher prices on Prime Day than on the Friday following Thanksgiving — TVs are actually 15 percent more expensive on Prime Day, whereas video games are 12 percent more expensive.
While these two categories showed the most pronounced differences in price, almost all devices seem less expensive on Black Friday. Market Track notes that laptop prices were 5 percent cheaper on Black Friday, tablets were 7 percent cheaper, and so-called “small appliances” were 3 percent cheaper.
That said, Prime Day is still a prime opportunity for consumers, especially considering that a number of other retailers are now lowering their own prices in an attempt to stay competitive.
“Amazon’s inaugural Prime Day event created off-season competitive pressure that caused a ripple effect of response across eCommerce, with multiple retailers announcing rival events on the same day in an effort to compete with Amazon,” said Traci Gregorski, senior vice president of marketing at Market Track.
Ultimately, Gregorski noted, it’s not surprising that Black Friday prices are a bit better than those of Prime Day. After all, she said, Amazon’s “focus was also to incentivize consumers to subscribe to a Prime membership. They hoped to get people to try the service and then drive loyalty through access to additional perks that come with Prime such as video streaming and cloud storage.”
