(NEWS 8/AP) — Amazon is extending its annual “Prime Day” promotion to 30 hours this year.
For the third annual Prime Day, Amazon will offer discounts and other deals in an effort to boost sales during the slower summer months. The deals are open only to members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime loyalty program, so Amazon typically gets more sign-ups, too.
Analysts expect Amazon-branded items to offer the best prices including the Fire Stick, Kindle and Echo.
While Amazon has claimed success, there have been grumblings that Prime Day deals are unimpressive or involve older models. Last year, Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos called Prime Day an example of “how to make clearance look good.”
New sale items are added every few hours, but shopping experts also warn there is a lot to click through in order to find the best prices.
Consumer Watchdog recently filed a federal complaint against Amazon.
It argues Amazon is advertising a percentage off the list price that doesn’t really exist
This year’s Prime Day promotion started at 6 p.m. PT on July 10 and will end at 3 a.m. ET July 12. It used to run for 24 hours.
It will be available in 13 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan and China.