Predictions on the best Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for 2018
As supreme ruler of the online retail landscape, Amazon has built quite the reputation for extraordinary Black Friday deals. Last year alone the selection was so generous and diverse that the website went on to handle 54.9% of all online Black Friday transactions, according to Hitwise data cited in Dealerscope.
The weekend was so successful for the company, in fact, that Cyber Monday went on to become the biggest shopping day in the company’s history. For the first time ever, it even outperformed their annually record-breaking Prime Day sales event.
So, what’s in store (metaphorically speaking) for Amazon’s Black Friday 2018? The deals themselves will be kept under wraps for another month but it is probable there will be many small quantity flash sale ‘Lightning Deals’ in the week leading up to November 23.
Prime customers are also expected to receive early access to the limited deals once again, making November the perfect time to sign up for the 30-day free Prime trial you’ve been toying with for months.
As well as the exclusive Black Friday weekend incentives, Prime offers unlimited one-day delivery on millions of items, two-hour delivery in certain areas, Prime Video/Music subscription, and more. Essentially, Black Friday with benefits.
Here are The Telegraph's predictions for what to expect on Amazon this year.
Amazon products
If previous years are anything to go by, Amazon will primarily champion deals on their branded products like the Echo, Kindle and Fire TV Stick.
Amazon’s most popular Alexa-enabled smart speaker - the Echo Dot - was their best-selling Black Friday product of 2017 and its third generation model will be released next week, making it a likely candidate for Black Friday inclusion.
The all-new Echo Dot will feature improved sound and a new design on top of the full Alexa package; the ability to play music, answer questions, read the news, check the weather, set alarms, control compatible smart home devices, and more.
The Echo Plus and Echo Show are also getting a facelift in the lead up to Black Friday and will sit alongside a brand new speaker connector (Echo Input), deep bass subwoofer for Echo devices (Echo Sub), and WiFi-driven device controller (Amazon Smart Plug).
Black Friday vs Prime Day
In recent years Amazon’s Prime Day discounts have become a rarely-acknowledged indicator of upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. More often than not, products are reduced to the same price they were on Prime Day for the shopping masses, come November.
Should the same happen this year, you can expect to purchase the Kindle Paperwhite for £75 (saving £35), Fire 7 Kids Edition Tablet for £60 (saving £40), Fire HD 8 Tablet for £60 (saving £30), and Echo Show for £100 (saving £100).
Outside of the Amazon family, Prime Day predecessors suggest you may be able to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy S8 SIM free w/ 64GB microSD for £439 (saving £69), Motorola Moto G6 SIM free for £199.99 (saving £40), Fitbit Charge 2 for £79.99 (saving £30), and Fitbit Blaze for £99.99 (saving £50).
Non-Amazon branded products
It would be no mistake to attribute Amazon's Black Friday success to the behemoth catalogue of products available. The company sells everything from smartphones to dog bones and there is often something for everyone across their Lightning, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
Based on last year’s offering we are likely to see a range of TVs at every size and price point (especially Smart 4K Ultra HD TVs), multiple PS4 bundles (often around £50 off the console’s RRP), a number of sim-free flagship and midweight phones (iPhones were roughly £100 off while Huawei’s latest was £320 cheaper), rock-bottom Dyson vacuum cleaners (many were over £200 off last year), professional-grade Sony cameras at compact costs, and more.
New tech’s impossibly tiny life cycles mean many of 2017's trending products are already listed at last year’s Black Friday deal prices. It is likely they will be further reduced in the coming weeks while newer models get £60-£100 cut from their RRP.
Trends from Amazon’s daily deals over the last few weeks would suggest luxury watches, microSDs, Xbox One/Nintendo Switch bundles, coffee machines, electric toothbrushes and more.
Find Amazon Black Friday voucher codes and Cyber Monday offers
