Amazon Prime is a subscription-based retail service provided by Amazon. It includes Amazon Video and Amazon Music, as well as gaming and grocery delivery services, and is a great place to look for any products at a discount.
Amazon was founded back in 1994 by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos. It quickly became one of the world's biggest and most popular online retailers. Started out selling only books, the company extended its offers to music, movies – and everything from baby nappies to clothes, groceries and electronics. With Amazon, having anything you need delivered to your door is just one click away.
Amazon Prime was launched in 2005. Initially, it only featured faster deliveries, providing its customers with 2-Day free shipping services. The Prime service further improved in 2012 when it started including Amazon Video, the company's online TV and movie streaming service. Prime Video provides hundreds of popular TV shows and movies to its paid Prime subscribers.
In 2014, Prime Music was added and became competitive with iTunes and Google Music. Moreover, Amazon Prime Day debuted in 2015 as the company's 20th birthday, which now became one of its biggest online retail events, releasing numerous deals and offers for its Prime subscribers. Video game streaming service Twitch became part of the Prime service in 2016 and the monthly subscription became available for the first time later that year.
Offering innovative services like Prime Wardrobe, which allows shoppers to try on clothes before paying for them, and drone deliveries the Horizon, Amazon Prime is constantly evolving retail service that serves the best for its customers.
Amazon Prime is Amazon's premium subscription service that provides its subscribers access to a range of exclusive products and services that other Amazon customers can't enjoy. After you sign up for Amazon Prime, you just log in as usual to access any additional services, either it is streaming a movie or adding new songs to your playlist.
Some of the benefits of joining Amazon Prime include:
Free same-day deliveries on thousands of items Amazon offers.
Ad free music playlists with access to millions of tracks and curated playlists by leading DJs.
Exclusive TV and movie content on Amazon Video.
Unlimited photo storage.
Prime members are also given early access to “Lightning Deals” 30 minutes before they are available to the rest of the Amazon customers.
Some eligible Prime members can also get cashback with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card or the Amazon Prime Store card.
These are just the major benefits Prime subscribers get. As a member you also have the chance to shop for bargains on Amazon Prime Day, which usually takes place in July and is equivalent to Black Friday for the company. We'll get back to this a bit later.
Amazon Prime covers almost all of Amazon's product areas and additionally there are several services that make it stand out. These include:
Music — When you sign up to become an Amazon Prime member, you'll gain instant access to over 2 million songs with no ads. Amazon Music has various music stations and playlists with curated songs for every mood. All of its audio content can easily be streamed using the Amazon Echo smart home device or simply asking Alexa to play a certain song yoy want. There are two music packages to pick from: the standard one, which includes the features described above, and Music Unlimited. Music Unlimited offers over 40 million tracks and is ideal for music enthusiasts. However, it comes with a price; Unlimited subscribers have to pay a small add-on fee every month on top of the regular Amazon Prime subscription fee. Our advice is that you play around with Amazon Prime and see if it meets your musical needs. If not, you can easily upgrade to Unlimited and you will often find Amazon Prime deals on HotUKDeals.
Movies and TV Shows — Amazon Prime Instant Video is one of the biggest movie and TV streaming services on the Internet. It took all the movie selection from LoveFilm, which Amazon purchased back in 2011, and has gained a massive fan base thanks to its shows like the Grand Tour, the Man in the High Castle and Transparent, all of which can be watched on Amazon Fire TV and the Fire Stick, as well as tablets and smartphones. It also supports 4K streaming and can be used on any devices from PlayStation 4s to Apple iPhones, providing an easy source of entertainment wherever you are.
Books and Magazines — The Amazon Prime Reading section gives its subscribers unlimited access to thousands of e-books, magazines and comics that can easily be downloaded onto Kindle compatible devices. It also lets subscribers to see and purchase Lightning deals on printed books, e-books, and Kindle products earlier than the rest of Amazon users. Furthermore, the Amazon App allows both iOS and Android users to access these materials without having to have a Kindle. Additionally, Amazon also offers audio books from its subsidiary company Audible for customers who want to enjoy spoken audio books on the go.
Games — Amazon Prime launched the gaming service in a radical way. Prime members can choose and purchase from a vast collection of PC, Mac, Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation games either in a physical form or as downloadable content. Amazon also partnered with Twitch, the world's biggest game streaming service for e-sports fans. When you sign up for Amazon Prime, you also game access to Twitch Prime, which lets you watch exclusive content and purchase pre-ordered games for less.
It's worth noting that Amazon Prime includes virtually all of Amazon's major retail areas, including tech gadgets, games, books, groceries, beauty products, pet products and even children's toys. It's linked to Amazon Fresh, which is basically Amazon's version of Ocado, the online grocery ordering service, and Amazon Pantry. Through Amazon Pantry, you can order popular household products of up to 20kg in weight and have them delivered to your door right away, a service necessary for families with busy parents.
Now that you are convinced after learning about all the avilable services of Amazon Prime, how do you actually sign up and what are some of the options you have? There are actually quite a few purchasing options, so make sure you pick the right one for you and search for deals so you get it for less.
Amazon Prime Video — This gives you access to all of Amazon's TV shows and movies with just £5.99 per month. There's no limit to how much you can watch and you can stream on your TV or tablet. However, this option is only for TV shows and movies, so the rest of the Prime benefits are not included in this package.
Monthly Prime Subscription — With a monthly fee of £7.99, subscribers get access to not only movies and TV shows but also over 2 million music tracks, curated playlists, e-books, printed books and magazine deals as well as unlimited photo storage. It also includes one-day shipping on items like books and groceries and 30 minute early access to Lightning Deals.
Annual Prime Subscription — This package includes all of the benefits described above. If you are looking to be a long-term Amazon Prime member, this is more economical. Priced at £79 per year, an annual subscription works out much cheaper than paying on a monthly basis. However, if you just want to experience Amazon Prime for a few movies or for Prime Day, a short-term monthly package could be just right for you. Before making a decision, browse around, check out Lighting Deals and compare what's on Netflix or Google Play. If you still think Amazon Prime is the best one, getting the annual package makes sense.
30-Day Free Trials — This is something that all prospective Amazon Prime subscribers need to remember; Amazon lets people try its services before the purchase. The company is confident that when users once experience its services, they will pay to subscribe. The trial offers the full Prime access without any subscription fee. It's something that every Prime fan should sign up for before making the decision. After all, even though you decide to sign up for Prime membership, you get a free month of Amazon Prime. However, beware; if you don't cancel your free trial before the 30 days is up, Amazon will automatically sign you up for the annual subscription package, so remember to cancel your trial if you want options other than the annual Prime subscription.
Amazon Prime Day is the most important day for Amazon. Amazon consolidated multiple sales days, such as January Sales bonanza, summer sale, autumn clearout and Black Friday extravaganza into one day of frantic bargain hunting. Usually taking place in mid-July, Prime Day has become a big day for entertainment fans thanks to its endless collection of music, TV, film and tech deals. If you need to upgrade your Kindle or Echo, Prime Day is a perfect time to do so. If you need a Fire Stick or are thinking about buying a Prime membership, waiting for Prime Day might be worth it.
Here are 5 quick tips on how to make the most of Prime Day:
It might be worth it to sign up for Amazon Prime before Prime Day. Prime subscribers get sneak previews a day in advance and can bid on all the Lightning Deals whereas regular Amazon customers can take advantage of deals on the day of.
A few days before Prime Day is also a good time to start a Prime subscription. Amazon dramatically cuts the subscription fee to attract bargain hunters. So, watch out for these deals.
Plan ahead. Ideally, you should have a pretty good picture of the recent tech and entertainment products and make a list of specific products you want and search for their deals. That way, you can find the deals that you would actually buy rather than wasting time going through all the available options that you don't even need to look at.
Taking advantage of the Amazon app is also a great idea. The app lets you set up Prime Day alerts so you won't miss a deal.
When you actually make a purchase, be aware that you can get extra rewards by accepting a 5-10 day shipping option if you don't need the item right away. To avoid delayed deliveries due to the massive demand and sales on Prime Day, Amazon offers credits to customers that choose to get their orders a bit later.
Amazon Prime Now is a new service that provides the same-day delivery service for almost all the items from video games to groceries. It does sound like too good to be true having something delivered to you within a couple of hours with just one click, but is it actually worth your money?
Yes and no. You can get your order delivered within as little as two hours with Amazon Prime Now but these deliveries are available only in certain parts of the UK. The range of products that Prime Now carries is also limited.
There are also some extra costs that come with Prime Now. Minimum delivery charges apply and the prices of items are slightly higher than the regular Amazon platform. So it might not be a service that you'll want to use every week.
On the other hand, there's no doubt that the convenience of online order and mega-express deliveries is extremely appealing if you are willing to pay a little bit extra. You might also encounter some occations like Christmas or wedding anniversaries where a prompt delivery service can be a lifesaver.
Lightning Deals is just one part of Amazon Prime's offer; there are some other ways to save when shopping at Amazon. Here are some ideas that you should be aware of:
Amazon Student — If you are a current UK student, you're in luck. Amazon Prime offers a free 6-month subscription package exclusively for students and it includes free deliveries and free music, TV and movie streaming.
Amazon Family — Families can also save by shopping with Amazon Prime. Amazon Family is a special service for families, which provides free Prime movie and TV streaming and discounts on groceries and household essentials like nappies. It also gives families access to Fire for Kids, a special child-friendly set of TV content that is compatible with Amazon Fire.
Amazon Discount Codes — Amazon Prime discount codes are regularly released. The offers range from £10 off Amazon Prime Now and discounts for Echo devices to free deliveries. Regulaly check the HotUKDeals' Amazon Prime listings and don't miss a deal.
Amazon Prime is one of the world's biggest online shopping and entertainment platforms. Today, more and more movie, TV show and music enthusiasts across the UK are signing up for Amazon Prime in order to freely access their favourite content, as well as other deals and convenience it provides. Then, how do you find the Amazon Prime package that serves your needs within your budget?
The first thing to remember is that even though Amazon constantly offers savings on Prime subscriptions, you can find better deals during certain times of the year. Late June and early July are the best times to search for discounted subscriptions. As Prime Day approaches, Amazon is very keen on getting as many people to be its Prime members as possible and they drop some big cuts on subscriptions.
If you cannot wait until then, make sure you explore all the options—rather it be a student discount or a family discount— and regularly check back with HotUKDeals, where all the available Prime discounts are listed in one place.
Additionally, HotUKDeals is also a great place to visit for Lightning Deals and general offers on Prime; we help you make the most of your Amazon Prime membership.
If you love movies, TV shows, music, tech gadgets, printed books, audio books and games, Amazon Prime is an essential for you. However, its annual or monthly subscription fees might not be affordable for everyone. Amazon Prime discounts listed on HotUKDeals help get the items you want and stream the content you love for less.
