Everything you need to know about Amazon’s October Prime Day sale: Start time, the competition, and more

UPDATE: Oct. 7, 2024, 7:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with two new Fire tablet deals, plus new info about brands whose products will be discounted during Prime Big Deal Days once it starts.

Amazon‘s “October Prime Day” event is right around the corner.

Prime Big Deal Days will run for 48 hours from Tuesday, Oct. 8 (starting at 3:01 a.m. ET) through Wednesday, Oct. 9. The Prime-exclusive sale will feature “millions of early holiday deals,” according to a press release, with flurries of new discounts dropping as often as every five minutes at certain points duing its runtime.

Amazon has released revolving batches of official early deals ever since it confirmed the sale’s dates in mid-September, which currently includes up to 58% off select Amazon devices (including Fire tablets and Echo smart speakers), four free months of Amazon Music Unlimited, three free months of Kindle Unlimited, and a GrubHub+ discount for Prime members. More recently, the retail giant teased future savings from brands like Beats, Casper, Dyson, Herschel, GE Profile, KitchenAid, Lego, Ninja, Peloton, Samsonite, Samsung, Shark, Sonos, and Sony once Prime Big Deal Days formally starts.

What is Prime Big Deal Days?

Prime Big Deal Days is a fall sale that serves as the extra-early kickoff to Amazon’s holiday shopping season ahead of Black Friday. It’s formatted identically to the retailer’s flagship summer Prime Day sale, where featured deals are only available to members of its Prime subscription service.

This marks the third time Amazon has held a fall Prime event — and it appears that the name is finally sticking. It was called the Prime Early Access Sale in 2022 and renamed to Prime Big Deal Days last year.

Do you need to be a Prime member to shop Prime Big Deal Days?

Being a Prime member is non-negotiable if you want to scoop up Prime Big Deal Days savings, but there’s a small loophole for those who don’t want to commit to a paid subscription: Trial members count.

You can try Prime for free for 30 days if you haven’t before, so long as there’s a valid credit card attached to your Amazon account. Just remember to cancel your membership before it automatically upgrades to a paid plan at the end of that month.

Are any other stores competing with Prime Big Deal Days?

There’s stiff competition for Amazon across the board — before, during, and after Prime Big Deal Days.

Best Buy got the earliest start on the holiday shopping season, kicking things off with a Member Deals Days sale for Plus and Total members of its My Best Buy program from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29. The event featured paywalled discounts and a free $50 bonus reward for those who spent at least $500. Next, the electronics retailer is holding an Apple Trade-Up Event for shoppers looking to upgrade to the latest Apple devices from Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, with a conveniently timed 48-Hour Flash Sale thrown in there for Oct. 8 and 9. (Expect to see deep discounts on TVs, gaming devices, laptops, and monitors while that one’s live.)

Best Buy will round out the month with a Prep for the Holidays Event starting Oct. 21, which will revolve around gadgets for entertaining (think home appliances, TVs, and smart home devices), plus a 3-Day Gaming Event from Oct. 25 to 27.

Walmart is taking a similar multi-part approach this shopping season, starting with a Holiday Deals event from Oct. 8 to Oct. 13 — its earliest holiday sale ever, per the announcement. That first day, the event will begin at 12 a.m. ET on Walmart.com and the Walmart app for paid Walmart+ members before opening to the general public at noon ET. (Trial Walmart+ members will not be eligible for early access, FYI.) It will then continue in person at Walmart stores on Oct. 9. Doorbusters will be up for grabs across its electronics, home, fashion, and toy departments.

Meanwhile, Target will host the fall edition of its seasonal savings event, Target Circle Week, from Sunday, Oct. 6 through Saturday, Oct. 12. Live in stores and online, the sale will “feature deals on products to help consumers prep for the holidays, along with savings on fall favorites, everyday essentials and more,” per the announcement. That includes rotating Deals of the Day that are live for just 24 hours at a time. (These will pick up again on Nov. 1 and continue through the rest of the holidays.)

Target Circle Week deals will be exclusive to members of Target Circle, the retailer’s loyalty program. It’s completely free to join.