India’s mixed feelings around the disproportionate hype surrounding the country’s first Amazon Prime Day

When India goes into any festive season, there’s an unrivalled fervour for sales and such. Prime Day, hosted by e-commerce giant Amazon worldwide, is a true testament of bargaining power following the introduction of GST to the country, which has sunk prices of electronics, much to the delight of the masses. The 30-hour special rolled out deals on apparel, houseware, gadgets and everyday products.

Amazon has an enriching history of epic sales such as Black Friday sales in the States and Easter and Christmas the world over. And nothing appeals to the human mindset like a fantastic bargain on trending products.

Gadget galore Rather than settling for one television, people clambered for the ‘two for the price of one’ deal that was waited upon with tenterhooks. TCL offered up a 50-inch SMART TV saddled with a 32-inch one.

With iPhone 8 on the autumnal horizon, iPhone 7 was available for ₹54,000 at most. Google Pixel, celebrated for its DSLR-worthy camera, was on sale for ₹38,000— a fair cut-down from its usual ₹44,000. Honor 8 Pro by Huawei was available for ₹29,990 along with a 15% cashback on HDFC cards. Twitter users were particularly chirpy over this exclusive Prime Day launch.

Sound system gods Bose had their Soundlink III Bluetooth speaker for ₹15,670 from ₹22,388. The features include universal compatibility with a 30 foot range.

The event, exclusive to Prime members who fork over ₹500 annually, were able to indulge in stacked-up deals. Many were elated that the membership fees is a small price to pay for all the benefits availed: Prime Video streaming, free next-day delivery and exclusive discounts throughout membership validity. Prime Video on Prime Day presents six titles for Prime members to indulge in: Baahubali: The Lost Legends and Amazon Originals Inside Edge, Deepwater Horizon and Hao Se Single.

Social media verdicts

With all the hype of Prime Day, one can only imagine people rushing home from offices, opening secret windows at work or even subtly checking their phone for deal notifications. Then there are the people who reach out to others after radio silence, knowing they’re in possession of Prime membership so they can avail the benefits without paying the ₹500— because sharing is caring.

The resulting excitement was pretty much a tidal wave across social media; Twitter being the public’s favourite platform for expression. However, not all sentiments expressed were positive. Some felt 30 hours simply wasn’t enough. Many exuded indignance that the offers were no different to a regular sale or were incomparable to that of Prime Day in the States— which is true. Tablets and ebook readers were on sale for an average of $50 while Amazon Echo prices were brought down significantly.

Cut some slack

It should be noted that with this being the country’s first Prime Day, the occasion probably serves as a litmus test for future Prime Days to come. With India as the 13th market entering the Prime Day fad, there’s still a lot of room for growth and development as more sellers become sales-day-compliant.