Sales of ‘adorable’ Alexa device for kids soar by 237% on Amazon as Prime members get massive discount

AMAZON Prime Day doesn’t kick off until next week, but shoppers are snapping up loads of early-bird deals.

‘Bird’ being the operative word here: the owl-themed Echo Dot Kids smart speaker has been cut from £64.99 to just £29.99.

Echo Dot Kids (5th-generation),
£29.99 for Prime members (was £64.99)

According to Amazon’s devices movers and shakers page, sales of this cute Alexa-powered device for children have soared by a whopping 237%.

Which is no great surprise to me, anyway, not with that enormous 54% discount (exclusively for those signed up to Prime, keep in mind).

As I’ve written about in the past: never buy an Amazon device at full price if you can help it.

The retailer launches sales on its ever-expanding range of smart tech on a fairly regular basis – and the best price drops are always to be found during either Black Friday in November or Amazon Prime Day.

The two-day sales frenzy is due to start next Tuesday (16th July), and will wrap up at midnight the following day.

But, in established tradition, the retailer has launched an early wave of deals on gadgets from its ranges of home security, televisions and Echo smart speakers.

I own a pair of (standard, non-Kid) Echo Dot speakers, which I bought in a buy-one-get-one-free deal a few Prime Days back.

These aren’t premium audio devices, but when they’re on sale, they make pretty sound investments – simply for all the features that come with having Alexa at your beck and call.

The Kids-themed lined of Echo Dots comes with a few extra features like parental controls (you can filter out songs with explicit lyrics, unsuitable podcasts, and the like).

There’s also the colourful owl design, and there’s a dragon-themed Dot too is your little ones prefer beasts to birds.

Perhaps the best touch in this deal, though, is that a year of Amazon’s Kids+ is included, which the retailer describes as ‘a digital subscription designed for kids aged 3–12 to safely learn, grow and explore.’

This usually costs £4.99 per month, so that’s basically an extra £60 worth of goodies here.

We might still be a few days away from the official sale start, but I’m almost certain these prices will stay as they are: Amazon rarely lowers sales prices on its devices any further if they’re already on sale.

What’s interesting about this particular Prime Day sale is that Amazon has used it as an excuse to launch a few new products at reduced intro prices.

My fellow writer Tom Tyers has covered the new Fire TV soundbar, which will typically cost £119.99 but is available to pre-order for £99.99.

There’s also the new Echo Spot, a kind of cousin of the Echo Dot that comes with a tiny little screen that displays graphics for weather reports, notifications, and a clock face that you can customise.

Being honest, I’m a bit dubious about the Spot, which will usually cost £79.99 but is available at a launch sale price of £49.99. Does a smart speaker really need a screen?

Mind you, that’s what I thought about Amazon’s Echo Show range when it first got launched back in 2017 – and these screen-based devices are now hugely popular thanks to some clever generational tweaks.

Dots, Spots, Shows: if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of Amazon gizmos on sale right now, you’re not the only one.

But when the big sale comes along next week, there are going to be thousands more products on sale for Prime members.

Some will be fabulous. Some will be good. Some will be a bit… meh.

The Sun’s Shopping team will be be sifting through all these offers and adding the very finest to our best Amazon Prime Day deals page – so make sure you check back in next Tuesday.

Echo Dot Kids (5th-generation),
£29.99 for Prime members (was £64.99)

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