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18 tips to get the most out of shopping on Amazon

8 min
Shopping tips
From finding everyday savings and deals, to supporting small businesses, find out how to get more out of your Amazon shopping experience.

While customers already know about Amazon's wide selection of products across categories including Fashion, Home, Beauty, Toys, Electronics, Amazon Devices, and many others, there's even more offered to make each shopping experience unique and fulfilling.

Customers can support small businesses, contribute to causes like Adopt a Shelter, get long-term savings for regular purchases, and so much more when they shop on Amazon.

Below are some of our pro tips to get the most out of your shopping experience. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up on November 24 and November 27, these tips might be especially useful as you prepare for holiday shopping.

From finding everyday savings and deals, to supporting small businesses, find out how to get more out of your Amazon shopping experience.

While customers already know about Amazon's wide selection of products across categories including Fashion, Home, Beauty, Toys, Electronics, Amazon Devices, and many others, there's even more offered to make each shopping experience unique and fulfilling.

Customers can support small businesses, contribute to causes like Adopt a Shelter, get long-term savings for regular purchases, and so much more when they shop on Amazon.

Below are some of our pro tips to get the most out of your shopping experience. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up on November 24 and November 27, these tips might be especially useful as you prepare for holiday shopping.

  • 1.
    Sign up for Amazon Prime
    Shopping tips

    Prime saves members money every day with exclusive deals, fast, free delivery, prescription savings, and quality entertainment. In the U.S., anyone can join Prime for $14.99 per month or $139 per year, or start a free 30-day trial if eligible. For more information about Prime, including discounted memberships like Prime Student and Prime Access, visit our Prime Hub.

  • 2.
    Support small businesses on Amazon

    Customers can shop and discover incredible gifts from small businesses—including from Black-owned, woman-owned, and military family-owned—at Amazon's Support Small page.

    New this holiday season, customers can easily filter their searches and discover eligible products from small business in Amazon’s store with the Small Business Search filter, while continuing to look out for the Small Business badge throughout Amazon’s store.

    All season long, customers can explore unique gift ideas in the Small Business Gift Guide, which features curated selections of amazing products, including Under $50, Under $25, Black-owned, and women-owned. Customers can also save big on amazing deals from small businesses with new deals dropping daily here.

    More than 60% of sales in Amazon’s store are from independent sellers—most of which are small and medium-sized businesses—providing a vast selection of amazing products, competitive prices, and convenience for consumers. There’s no better time than now to shop small.

  • 3.
    Shop on the Amazon app
    Shopping tips

    Customers can enjoy a 360-degree view of products, real-time tracking and delivery updates, and even get alerts when their saved items go on sale by using the Amazon app. Learn more.

  • 4.
    Shop with the help of Alexa

    Alexa can help customers shop in a number of ways, whether it's quickly adding items to their shopping list or carts, offering product recommendations, helping track deliveries, or helping find the best deals.

    Customers can simply ask “Alexa, what are my deals?” or Alexa can also proactively notify customers up to 24 hours in advance if there is a deal coming on an eligible item on their Wish List, in their Cart, or Save for Later. They’ll receive a notification on their Alexa-enabled device when a deal is available and can then ask Alexa to remind them when the deal goes live or ask Alexa to buy it for them by saying, “Alexa, buy it for me.”

  • 5.
    Shop in Spanish

    If you prefer to shop in Spanish, Amazon.com gives customers the same convenient shopping experience in Spanish on any device. Visit amazon.com/espanol or change your language preference on the Amazon app to shop deals and gift guides in Spanish.

  • 6.
    Shop in store
    Shopping tips

    Customers can shop in store at Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, and Amazon Style. Each store offers an unparalleled selection of top brands at affordable prices, a variety of convenient ways to shop, and exclusive benefits for Prime members. Whether you are purchasing ingredients for a dinner party, grabbing a cup of coffee on your way to the next store, or picking out the perfect outfit for an upcoming celebration, Amazon’s selection of stores have you covered.

    It’s easier than you might think.

    Amazon Fresh offers an unparalleled selection of top national and local brands as well as high-quality protein and produce, and private label favorites. Amazon Fresh is committed to delivering value in every aisle—from an expansive selection of pantry staples priced at reliably low prices every day to a rotating selection of competitive weekly deals and convenient daily fresh meal deals—customers can rest assured that they will find quality and convenience at great prices.

    Whole Foods Market offers a unique selection of specialty, natural, and organic brands like Alexandre Family Farms, Purely Elizabeth Granola, and more, as well as Animal Welfare certified local, organic and grass-fed options, and sustainable seafood.

    Amazon Go is our take on a convenience store and offers customers a wide range of grab-and-go items from sandwiches to salads, everyday essentials, and more—with no lines and no checkout thanks to Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.

    Amazon Style is Amazon’s first physical store for men’s, women’s, and kids’ clothing, shoes, and accessories. Customers can discover unique products they’ll love, at great prices, with the help of innovative technology like personalized, interactive fitting rooms.

  • 7.
    Subscribe to save more money on Amazon

    Subscribe & Save helps you never run out of the things you order most on Amazon.com. The program has no fees, and you can cancel or adjust your subscriptions at any time. You can even unlock extra savings—up to 15% off—on eligible subscriptions when you receive five or more subscriptions in one auto-delivery.

    From detergent to toothpaste to dog treats, you can subscribe to all of your everyday essentials and take advantage of free delivery with Subscribe & Save.

  • 8.
    Shop the best Amazon finds from celebrities and influencers

    Watch Amazon Live for gift guides, inspiration, and live demonstrations. Shop alongside celebrities and influencers as they share trends and their favorite gift ideas across Beauty, Fashion, Electronics, Home, and more. Viewers can ask questions via live chat and can easily shop the products featured through a carousel that updates in real time. Tune in to their livestreams on amazon.com/live or download the Amazon Live Shopping app on Fire TV.

  • 9.
    Discover best sellers and top-trending items on Amazon
    Shopping tips

    Shop the Top 100-ish Gifts to find popular and trending products, check out Customers’ Most-Loved Gifts to shop a curated selection of highly-rated gift ideas from Toys, Home, Electronics and more, find trending picks from your favorite celebrities and influencers on the Creator Favorites page, and visit Shop by Interest to see what creators and customers are buying.

  • 10.
    Learn about Amazon Access and Prime Access

    Amazon Access is a one-stop-shop for customers to explore programs, discounts, and features that make shopping on Amazon even easier and more affordable. Here, customers will find information on options like payment with SNAP EBT, Prime Access, and more. If you receive SNAP, Medicaid, or other qualifying government assistance, you’re eligible for Prime Access—all the benefits of a regular Prime membership at 50% of the price.

    • 11.
      Enjoy ultrafast delivery or free pickup for groceries
      Shopping tips

      Let Amazon cross grocery shopping off your to-do list. Grocery delivery and pickup can help customers save time. Prime members in more than 3,500 cities and towns across the U.S. have access to two-hour grocery delivery from Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh. Depending on the size of the order, Prime members will pay a small service fee.

      Prime members in more than 55 cities and towns across the U.S. can now enjoy free grocery pick-up from Amazon Fresh, and Prime Visa cardmembers will continue to earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon Fresh online or in-store with an eligible Prime membership.

      Amazon Fresh is now offering grocery delivery to customers who are not currently Prime members in a dozen metro areas across the U.S.. Depending on the size of the order, customers will pay a small service fee.

    • 12.
      Find Amazon deals all year long

      Browse the absurdly great deals and shenanigans at Woot!, Amazon's daily deal site where you can save on computers, electronics, home and kitchen supplies, sporting goods, and much more. Plus, Prime members get free standard shipping and monthly exclusive deals. Oh, and we tell jokes—some of them are actually pretty good.

      Here's how to get limited-time promotions.

      Lightning Deals are another great way to shop items at great prices. Lightning Deals are limited time promotions that pop up on products across Amazon stores on everything from fashion to bedding to tech, and the savings can be substantial.

    • 13.
      Give back when you shop

      There are two easy ways to give back while shopping on Amazon.

      1. Customers can shop Climate Pledge Friendly, which recognizes products with improvements in at least one aspect of sustainability. While searching for products on Amazon, Climate Pledge Friendly is labeled on eligible products. This label is also featured on the product's page to help customers learn more about the certifications that make the product Climate Pledge Friendly.

      2. You can help our furry friends by donating supplies and contributing financially to a shelter of your choice. Over 2,800 shelters around the U.S. have created Wish Lists of supplies they need. Visit the Adopt a Shelter page on desktop or mobile to shop shelter Wish Lists.

    • 14.
      Shop with confidence
      Shopping tips

      Customers can shop with peace of mind knowing Amazon stands behind the products sold in our stores with the A-to-z Guarantee. Amazon’s protection applies to products purchased in our stores worldwide, and in the unlikely event customers experience issues with timely delivery or the condition of their purchase, whether purchased from Amazon or one of our two million independent selling partners, Amazon will make it right with a refund or replacement.

      Amazon is committed to a trustworthy shopping experience and backs the hundreds of millions of products offered every day in our stores. Learn more at amazon.com/guarantee.

    • 15.
      Learn all about returns

      Our goal at Amazon is to make buying online—and returning—as easy as possible. We offer free, convenient returns on most items delivered in the U.S., and customers should look for the FREE Returns badge under the price to confirm it is a qualifying item.

      To start a return, customers visit “Your Order,” select the item to be returned, and select the reason for returning. Customers can then choose from a list of convenient return options and then drop off their item. Customers can also make returns with no packaging or a label at select locations, including Whole Foods, Staples, Kohl’s, Amazon Stores (Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Style), and The UPS Stores by showing the QR code provided.

    • 16.
      Be aware of potential scams

      Amazon is committed to helping consumers avoid impersonation scams. These happen when a scammer pretends to be a trusted company and reaches out to try to get access to sensitive information like social security numbers, bank information, or Amazon account details.

      Amazon has filed three lawsuits against bad actors that pretended to be legitimate copyright owners in an attempt to remove products from the Amazon Store.

      Stay safe from impersonation scams with these six tips:

      1. Verify purchases on Amazon. If you receive a message about the purchase of a product or service, do not respond to the message or click on any link in the message; instead, log into your Amazon account or use the Amazon mobile app and confirm that it is really in your purchase history before taking any action.
      2. Trust Amazon’s app and website. We will not ask for payment over the phone or email—only in our mobile app, on our website, or in one of our physical stores. We will not call and ask you to make a payment or bank transfer on another website.
      3. Be wary of false urgency. Scammers often try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they’re asking.
      4. Don’t be pressured into buying a gift card. We will never ask you to purchase a gift card, and no legitimate sale or transaction will require you to pay with gift cards. Learn more about common gift card scams on our help pages.
      5. Contact us. If you’re ever unsure, it’s safest to stop engaging with the potential scammer and contact us directly through the Amazon app or website. Do not call numbers sent over text or email, or found in online search results. Remember Amazon will not ask you to download or install any software to connect with customer service nor will we request payment for any customer service support.
      6. Check what others are saying. See if anyone else has reported a similar situation. In the U.S., Amazon has partnered with the Better Business Bureau to provide consumers a searchable Scam Tracker that enables you to search suspicious communications reported by others by email, URL, phone number, and more.

      If you receive correspondence that you think may not be from Amazon, please report it immediately. Customers can use the Amazon self-service tool to report something suspicious in just a few quick steps. If you are not a customer, you can still report a suspicious message to us at stop-spoofing@amazon.com. These reports give us information to identify bad actors and take action against them, helping us stop scams before they happen.

    • 17.
      Pick up packages at thousands of locations
      Shopping tips

      Amazon offers convenient package pickup at thousands of locations in the U.S. Visit amazon.com/packagepickup to find the nearest package pickup location.

    • 18.
      Shop Same-Day Delivery or In-Store Pickup from local retailers

      Customers in participating locations can shop from popular brick-and-mortar retailers, like Sur La Table, Fabletics, and Office Depot, through Amazon.com and the Amazon mobile app.

      Delivery is free for Prime members on qualifying orders, and just $2.99 if the order does not meet the minimum. In-store pickup is always free. Customers can visit amazon.com/nearme to see what stores are available in their area.

    Next, learn more about the benefits of a Prime membership.

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