Parents are one demographic sure to get their moneys worth during Big Deal Days
October 6, 2023
Theres a new heavyweight shopping match in town Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days vs. Black Friday and the consumer is the one wholl be taking home the belt given all the deals that ConsumerAffairs has seen.
First in the ring is Amazons sale this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. Filled with numerous deals on home goods, Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices, and toys, its getting a lot of attention from deal shoppers.
The latest BlackFriday.com survey of 1,089 shoppers found that more than half (58%) of shoppers plan to shop for Prime Big Deal Days and spend an average of $154 during the event, making a significant dent on their holiday shopping lists.
What you should buy on Prime Big Deal Days
Amazon isnt trying to make Big Deal Days an all-things-for-all-people event, but rather focus on reasonably priced items that serve as decent holiday presents. Big things like TVs will get their due come Black Friday.
To break down the haves vs. the have nots, BlackFriday.com's team of shopping experts took a hard look at what information Amazon has leaked so far and came up with a list of what to buy now versus what to hold off on until Black Friday.
BlackFriday.coms Mackenzie Shand told ConsumerAffairs that one smart move Amazon is making is an emphasis on toys, since the popular ones tend to be unavailable as we inch closer to mid-December.
If you know of a specific toy your little one has their eye on, and you see it available at a discount on Prime Big Deal Days, we recommend purchasing it during the sale and not waiting until a later date, Shands said.
Speaking of the little ones, WhatToExpects Melissa Bykofsky assessed whether parents are getting better deals at Amazon or whether they should wait for classic Black Friday shopping discounts. She told ConsumerAffairs that baby bottles, high chairs, TLC kits for moms, and 35% to 40% discounts on name-brand diapers.
Based on what Bykofsky saw from Amazon at this time a year ago, she forecasts that portable play yards might be listed at as much as 40% off. Even some tricked-out models from name brands like Graco, with a bassinet and changing table attachment, were on sale, she said.
Discounted gift cards are a no-brainer, too, in Shands opinion. You can never go wrong with purchasing a discounted gift card as long as you are likely to use it. Purchasing gift cards on sale is basically like adding free money to your wallet. You can put that gift card towards your holiday shopping or give it as a gift this holiday season, she said.
Shands other two Big Deal Days faves are small kitchen appliances and Amazon smart speakers (Alexa). Alexa has gotten sort of a voice lift and rather than responding in short, curt-like phrases, she is now considerably more conversational and natural-sounding.
Amazon thinks its onto something here and will have all its new smart Alexa-driven devices on sale during the sales event. Plus, the retailer will have impressive markdowns on video doorbells which with the possibility of package theft growing during the holidays, might be a prudent purchase.
What you should skip on buying on Prime Big Deal Days
In addition to TVs, Shands said that vacuums (including the robot variety) are something that most large retailers are holding onto for Black Friday.
At that point, you will be able to scope out the competition and see which retailer is offering the best deal. These items aren't likely to sell out, so if you can hold off for a few weeks, you might as well wait to see if the deals improve on Amazon or at any other retailer, Shands said.
Another uh-uh is clothing and footwear. Big Deal Days will probably have a few things in this category, but its not a focus as it will be on Black Friday and at other retailers.
Bykofsky suggests that parents should wait for Black Friday if they want big ticket items like strollers, car seats, cribs, or baby tech items.
Diaper bags have historically been on sale for 25% to 30% off at retailers like Nordstrom and from brands themselves, she said. As far as strollers, the majority of brands will hold off on issuing stroller sales until Black Friday, as well.
Other baby-centric Black Friday predictions that Bykofsky made were car seats which could be discounted as much as 34% off at Amazon, cribs up to 30% off at Walmart and Wayfair, and 30% discounts on smart baby monitors like Owlet and Nanit.
Given these are expensive baby tech items, the discount will really help parents out here, she said.