Amazon has confirmed that Prime Day 2018 will last for 36 hours, beginning at noon on July 16 and ending at midnight on July 17.

Australian shoppers, who have only recently been able to sign up for Amazon’s free shipping and loyalty program, Prime, will kick off the annual shopping event.

“Having just launched Prime in Australia, we are delighted that Australian members can now enjoy the unparalleled combination of shopping and entertainment benefits that Prime gives them,” said Rocco Braeuniger, country manager of Amazon Australia.

“We hope that Prime Day will provide them with even more value.”

Amazon’s own products, including Alexa-enabled items, are typically the most heavily discounted items, though sellers are expected to slash prices in a range of categories, including books, electronics, DVDs, video games, smart home, cookware and kitchen appliances, toys, fashion and everyday essentials. Some deals will be exclusively available for Prime members.

Other countries taking part in Prime Day this year include the US, UK, Spain, Mexico, Japan, India, Italy, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Singapore, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

100 million Prime members

According to Amazon, more than 100 million people around the world pay for a Prime membership, benefitting from free delivery on eligible items alongside shopping and entertainment benefits tailored to each country.

The program launched in Australia on June 19, bringing free two-business-day delivery on domestic eligible products to nearly 90 per cent of Australians.

Australian Prime members also gain access to more than eight million products from Amazon US sold directly on the local site and benefit from free international delivery on Prime orders over $49.

Amazon has not disclosed how many Aussies have signed up to Prime so far, however, it has announced a raft of incentives to sign up for several of its services.

Prime members will also get $10 in Amazon credit when they stream Prime Video for the first time between July 9 and 15, those who join Kindle Unlimited before July 31 will get two months of free access to Kindle Unlimited, with over one million titles for new customers, and those who join Audible between July 9 and 31 will get three months free access.

In addition, Twitch Prime will give away a free PC game every day until July 18.

This story originally ran on our sister site, Internet Retailing.

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