Amazon Prime Day Deals: Everything You Need to Know About Prime Day

Amazon today has slashed prices on thousands of items including electronics, entertainment, home and kitchen, clothing and more, in its first ever Amazon Prime Day deal specials.

Amazon Prime DealsSome of the deals are indeed worth shelling out the $99 annual fee to become a Prime member. New deals are being added as often as every 10 minutes throughout the day.Some notable deals announced so far include 40% off electronics, such as a 40-inch LED TV for $115, a Chromebook laptop for $199, and a Kindle Fire for $49. Select clothing, shoes, jewelry and watches are being offered at 30% off. A Char-griller gas grill is 47% off for $148.

Additionally, in an effort to promote Prime Day, Amazon is featuring sweepstakes and giveaways. Listening to any song on Prime Music today gives you a chance to win up to $25,000.  Amazon is also giving away an all-expense paid trip to see the season two premier of Transparency.

Rival Wal-Mart is featuring "Value Deals of the Day," such as a Sony Baby Monitor for $20, reduced from $69.98. Among the thousands of new Wal-Mart rollbacks are a three-piece bistro set patio set reduced to $79 from $129, an RCA 20" LE HDTV for $109, and an Shark Easy Spray Vacuum more than half-off at $20.

Stock Price at a High Before Amazon Prime Day Deals Debut

A new strategy will move the Amazon stock price today...

You see, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) debuts its first-ever "Prime Day" on July 15. The 24-hour sale-a-thon from America's largest online retailer promises to offer "more deals than Black Friday."

"Prime members can shop exclusive deals from electronics, toys, video games, movies, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items, and more," Amazon's site reads. "Try Prime and get immediate access to deals on July 15."

Here's a look at AMZN's stock price today on Prime Day's official launch...

Amazon Stock Price Today (Nasdaq: AMZN)

AMZN stock hit a record intraday high of $465.95 on July 14, the evening ahead of Amazon Prime Day deals. Shares finished up 2.2% at $465.57 on the day and an impressive 50.01% year-to-date.

Tuesday marked a fourth-straight gain of at least 1% for Amazon stock - the longest such stretch since a four-session streak that ended Nov. 29, 2013. It remains to be seen if Prime Day will help continue the streak.

Additionally, UBS analyst Eric Sheridan issued an upgrade from "Neutral" to "Buy" and boosted his stock price target by $100 to $550 (18% above current levels). That target is 17% higher than the average of $470.20, according to FactSet. The average rating is the equivalent of buy.

UBS also raised its fiscal year 2015 and 2016 revenue and margin estimates for AMZN. It said Amazon's fast-growing and higher-spending Prime subscriber base has increased the importance of selling Prime-eligible items. The push could lead to greater site conversion, increased annual spending per customer, and higher levels of gross merchandise value for Amazon.

Will Amazon Prime Day Impact Amazon Stock?

What is Amazon Prime Day? "Like Christmas in July with more deals than Black Friday." Amazon Prime Day

That's how Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is billing its one-day shopping event on July 15. Wednesday's bargain-hunting extravaganza is in celebration of the e-retailer's 20th anniversary.

Dubbed Amazon Prime Day, the event will offer Amazon Prime members exclusive deals on electronics; toys; video games; movies; clothing; patio, lawn and garden, sports, and outdoor items; and more. The deals will be available for customers in the United States, the UK, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Austria.

While customers must be a member of Amazon Prime to get the deals, the company is offering a 30-day trial period to promote the plethora of sales. In addition to immediate access to the July 15 deals, the Prime membership ($99 annually) includes free two-day shipping on millions of items, unlimited photo storage, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows, and instant access to a seemingly endless library of Kindle books and music.

The real premise behind Prime Day is not about providing bargains. It's all about boosting Prime membership. Prime, which marked 10 years of existence on February 3, is a significant sales tool for the online retailing giant.

Indeed, when someone signs up for Prime and ponies up the $99 fee, they try to get the most out of their membership and make Amazon their one-stop shop.

"It's absolutely core to our retail business," Greg Greely, Amazon vice president and head of Prime, told the Seattle Times in February.

Worldwide Prime membership surged 53% in 2014. The hope is Prime Day 2015 will goose that figure further.

The event will likely "drive some incremental sales volume," as retail sales in July tend to dip and don't pick up much until back-to-school shopping starts, according to market research firm NPD Group. But the overall bump up in sales may be muted. If Amazon really wanted to juice sales, it would offer Prime Day deals to non-Prime members as well.

Plus, these rivals are getting in on the act...