What The Tech: App Of The Day, Keepa
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Amazon Prime Days are coming up on July 12th and 13th. If you’re unfamiliar, the shopping holiday is an Amazon creation and has been bigger (at least for Amazon) than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The app Retail Me Not predicts Prime shoppers will spend, on average $388 on Prime Day this year.
Prime members can expect deep discounts on Amazon products and on everything from electronics to toys to clothing.
A fun part of Amazon Prime Days is the lightning deals. Low prices that last just an hour, or until things sell out. Unless you spend the day watching for a low price, you might need this app called Keepa. Or do you?
Keepa is a free app for iPhones, Android devices, and web browsers. Like other apps, it sends alerts when an item you’re tracking drops in price. I searched for a portable movie projector in the Keepa app which took me to the listing on Amazon. Right now it sells for $90 new. I’d like to know if it becomes a lightning deal on Prime Day so I can set an alert to get a notification if it does. You simply enter the price you’re looking for and if it hits that price or below, you’ll get a notification on your phone. This guarantees you won’t miss a Lightning Deal if you open the notification.
That’s helpful, but Amazon’s shopping app does the same thing if you add the item to a wishlist. If the price drops at all, you’ll usually get a notification.
Keepa’s prices aren’t always accurate. It lists the projector’s current price at $89.99 but it’s actually listed for $80 on Amazon with a 15% coupon. Prices change quickly.
But here’s why the Keepa app is useful. It has a price history. By tapping a button, Keepa’s tracker shows the same projector has hovered around $90. Looking closer I can see that at the end of April the price dropped to $68.84. It dropped to that price again in June. That tells me there’s a good chance it’ll hit that price again. Keepa also alerts me that the projector will be part of a lightning deal at a certain date and time. That’s pretty handy.
Keepa also shows me prices for used and reconditioned items.
Do Prime Day shoppers need the Keepa app? Amazon’s shopping app does a fine job of alerting you to price drops and lightning deals. But if you’re doing some Prime Day prep work, Keepa may be worth keeping on your phone.
