After months of rumors, Amazon has confirmed a second Prime-exclusive event for 2022. Taking place Oct. 11 and 12, Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale will be a 48-hour deal bonanza offering members-only savings for Prime customers. As the name suggests, the new sale is designed to give shoppers the first chance to score some deals ahead of the busy holiday shopping season that usually gathers steam around Black Friday in November.
If the new sale sounds a lot like Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale, that’s because it is, in all but name, a second Prime Day sale. This is the first time Amazon has held two such events in one year, but the fall placement of a Prime-exclusive sale isn’t unprecedented. Prime Day was moved from its usual summer spot to October in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon announced that the new global event will offer hundreds of thousands of deals across across a range of product categories including electronics, fashion, home, kitchen, pets, toys and Amazon’s own devices. The company will also be running Top 100 lists that feature the “most popular and giftable items,” with new deals from the list dropping throughout the event, plus a new Toys We Love list for those buying for children. Featured brands will include Hasbro, iRobot, KitchenAid, and Samsung.
“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, vice president of Amazon Prime, in a statement. “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.”
The Prime Early Access Sale will be an international affair, taking place in Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US.
Select early deals are also launching today, including a four-month free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, a free year of Grubhub Plus for Prime members and more.