OPINION: As one other Prime Day gross sales occasion hurtles by I can’t assist however really feel slightly disenchanted with the offers that had been on provide. That’s to not say the occasion wasn’t a giant success basically.
A press launch from Amazon mentioned that “over the course of the two-day procuring occasion, Prime members bought greater than 375 million objects worldwide and saved greater than $2.5 billion on thousands and thousands of offers throughout the Amazon retailer, serving to make it the largest Prime Day occasion ever.”
And that’s some huge cash saved, although I do surprise simply how a lot clients saved. With their offers, Amazon and different retailers present how a lot you’re saving off the RRP – which is truthful sufficient – however most merchandise, particularly older ones, weren’t or haven’t retailed at that value in ages.
In lots of instances you would have purchased that product for a similar value a few weeks in the past – maybe even a couple of months in the past. Some merchandise are nonetheless on the identical value after Prime Day.
The offers had been particularly ‘gentle’ for those who had been trying to enhance/improve your AV package, primarily as a result of many of the huge manufacturers appeared to have excused themselves from the gross sales frenzy.
The likes of Q Acoustics had US solely offers, whereas Cambridge Audio, KEF, or Bang & Olufsen both didn’t appear to be providing any reductions or had comparatively few. Astell & Kern and Marshall had a couple of offers, however you would have purchased these merchandise earlier than Prime Day on the identical value in lots of instances.
The likes of Sonos and Denon wi-fi audio system had been conspicuous by their absence, whereas all of it appeared to be very quiet on the projector, soundbar, and encompass sound techniques entrance.
In case you had been going to purchase one thing throughout Prime Day, many of the offers focused on smartphones and headphones with a choice of TVs thrown in. However even with TVs, financial savings on 2023 fashions had been few apart from a couple of new units from Hisense.
Maybe it’s a case of producers not desirous to low cost their merchandise too early within the 12 months or by an excessive amount of, however so far as AV package is anxious Prime Day 2023 feels prefer it largely handed it by.
For me, I used to be trying to purchase some 4K Blu-rays however didn’t purchase any in the long run. Those I needed had been out there in different gross sales promotions (just like the Arrow Summer time Sale at present occurring), others weren’t sufficiently big to get my curiosity or had been discs I already had.
That feeling of déjà vu permeated my Prime Day expertise. It was the same old suspects – Hearth TV streamers, Android smartphones, Echo audio system – that received the eye, and it’s more likely to be the identical when Black Friday 2023 rolls round.
I can see why makers of hi-fi and residential cinema package wouldn’t wish to low cost package. You don’t wish to devalue merchandise by at all times decreasing the value, conditioning folks to purchase solely when financial savings are had. And in the event that they’re promoting effectively anyway why hassle decreasing the value?
Maybe the primary downside is just not the shortage of offers however how AV is introduced basically to the general public. Go to the Audio & Hello-Fi techniques web page on Amazon and the very best sellers are Amazon Hearth TV Sticks and Echo audio system. That’s a notion that should change.
