Latest news with #Smarty
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Bargain network offers UNLIMITED data for £18 a month – but for limited time only
SHOPPERS looking to switch mobile networks are in for a win. Smarty has knocked the price of its Unlimited data plan down from £20 to just £18 a month, so now's a pretty good time to jump on it. Smarty SIM-only deal, Unlimited data, £20 £18/month BUY FROM SMARTY If your contract's ended or you're just hunting for a better SIM-only deal, Smarty is well worth checking out. The network regularly rolls out limited-time offers, either cutting prices or boosting data, and right now, this Unlimited deal is one of its strongest. For anyone who chews through mobile data, the Unlimited plan at £18 per month is a no-brainer. It's excellent value from a fuss-free provider that keeps things simple, no gimmicks, just loads of data and solid savings. But that's not all. Smarty's 100GB plan has been bumped up to 200GB per month, doubling your allowance while still costing just £12. That's a huge amount of data for the price, especially since there's usually a big jump in cost between mid-range plans and Unlimited. If you're unsure about coverage in your area, you can use Smarty's coverage tool to check signal strength where you live. There's also a free Ofcom mobile phone checker tool that helps you compare network coverage and find the best option for your location. And with major providers now switching off their 3G networks to focus on 4G and 5G, it's a good time to make sure your plan and phone are future-ready. Best SIM-only deals from Smarty What's great about Smarty is you can keep costs low with a smaller plan, or go Unlimited without paying over the odds. Here's the best this month: 5GB for £6 per month - buy here 8GB for £7 per month - buy here 16GB for £8 per month - buy here 40GB for £10 per month - buy here 100GB 200GB for £12 per month - buy here 150GB for £15 per month - buy here Unlimited data for £20 per month - buy here All Smarty plans are rolling one-month contracts, so you're never tied down; you can switch or cancel whenever it suits you. It's just one more reason the network's a go-to for budget-savvy shoppers. This deal won't be around forever; you'll need to switch by August 11, and make sure to activate your SIM within 14 days. The £18 monthly price is locked in for up to 15 months from your first renewal, after that, it goes back to the standard £20 a month. If you're after a new handset instead, there are some great Android deals doing the rounds right now. One provider is bundling in free tech worth £418 when you pick up the Samsung Galaxy S24, with our top pick priced at just £24.99 per month. best SIM-only deals across all the major networks.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How will tariffs affect Amazon Prime Day sales and deals? What to know.
Tariffs and economic uncertainty are on the minds of shoppers as they prepare for Amazon's summer Prime Day sales. But at least one company is forecasting that sales for the online sales event will break records as budget-conscious shoppers look for deals. Amazon is holding its annual Prime Day sales from July 8 through July 11 – twice as long as last year's event. The event, open to Prime members, has also offered early-access deals. Still, some Amazon third-party sellers are sitting out this Prime Day, amid pressures from tariffs. A record $23.8 billion in sales is expected to be spent by consumers for Amazon Prime Days, Adobe said in a forecast released on July 7. That's a 28.4% increase year over year and $9.6 billion more than the comparable period last year. Last year, shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the two-day Amazon Prime event, according to Adobe. Adobe said discounts for Prime Days is expected to remain at historically high levels – on par with the major deals that consumers saw last year during the shorter sale. Overall, discounts across U.S. retailers will range from 10% to 24% off list prices with apparel expected to have the biggest deals at 24%, Adobe said. Other categories with major discounts include electronics (22%), televisions (17%), appliances (16%), toys (15%) furniture (14%), computers, (12%) and sporting goods (10%). Consumers are also expected to "trade up" to higher-ticket items, driven by strong discounts Adobe said. U.S. shoppers, in two separate surveys ahead of Prime Days, said looming tariffs were playing a role in how they are shopping. In a 2025 summer spending survey of 1,024 U.S. shoppers by Smarty, an online shopping rewards app, shoppers were pretty evenly split in how tariffs were affecting their shopping habits for the Amazon sales. Thirty-two percent of shoppers said they were being more selective about purchases due to budget constraints, while 25% were planning to buy more items to avoid anticipated future price increases. Another 23% said they would focus specifically on categories likely to be affected by tariffs. "This year's July Prime Day represents a perfect storm of seasonal shopping and economic anxiety," Vipin Porwal, founder and CEO at Smarty, said in a press release. "Consumers are leveraging the discounts not just for immediate needs, but as a hedge against potential future price increases in tariff-affected categories. Prime Day will be an early indicator for consumer savviness in using major sales events as opportunities to make strategic purchases ahead of anticipated price changes." In another study of 1,000 consumers by Akeneo, more than half or 57% of those surveyed said tariffs are impacting their Prime Day shopping habits with 25% saying they planned to skip or buy less because of possible price hikes. Four percent of shoppers surveyed said they planned to shop with other retailers, according to the survey by Akeneo, a software company that works with retailers on its products. Some third-party merchants who previously sold China-made goods during Amazon's July event told Reuters earlier this year that they would be sitting out this year or reducing the amount of discounted merchandise they offer. The pullback, Reuters reported, was a way for sellers to protect profit margins amid the U.S China trade war. In April, Kim Vaccarella, chief executive of China-made tote bag company Bogg Bag, told Reuters that she had decided to skip Prime Day this year. Vaccarella said she wanted to retain some of her unsold U.S. inventory and hoped to sell to retailers and smaller, independent shops, at full price or for smaller discounts. She had also halted production of the bags, which sell for $70 to $200 on Amazon, while she worked to move manufacturing to Cambodia and Vietnam. Smaller third-party Amazon sellers are more impacted by tariff costs than larger retailers, said Katherine Black, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney where she leads food, drug and mass market retail. "There have been a number of small suppliers that have said 'Look, I did some forward buys, but I'm holding that inventory to try to sell it close to full price to manage my exposure and I'm not going to participate this year,' " Black told USA TODAY. When is Amazon Prime Day 2025? Dates, deals and what to know about summer sales event There will still be plenty of deals for shoppers to choose from during Prime Days, Black said. She anticipates potentially seeing what she called big, showcase deals each day from big-named brands. "Those are techniques we'll see when retailers are trying to drive traffic," she said. Lauren Beitelspacher, a professor in the marketing division of Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, whose area of study includes retail thinks the Prime Day event will be successful, especially since consumers are more price-conscious right now with tariffs and there is tariff confusion. "I think customers are just really looking for a deal wherever they can get one," she told USA TODAY. Ten percent tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. began in April, with additional "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from more than 70 countries. President Donald Trump later delayed the reciprocal tariffs until July 9. The White House announced on July 7 that the deadline would be extended to August 1. This story has been updated to add new information and to fix a typo. Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@ or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @ on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will tariffs affect Amazon Prime Day deals? What to know. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
How will tariffs affect Amazon Prime Day sales and deals? What to know.
Tariffs and economic uncertainty are on the minds of shoppers as they prepare for Amazon's summer Prime Day sales. But at least one company is forecasting that sales for the online sales event will break records as budget-conscious shoppers look for deals. Amazon is holding its annual Prime Day sales from July 8 through July 11 – twice as long as last year's event. The event, open to Prime members, has also offered early-access deals. Still, some Amazon third-party sellers are sitting out this Prime Day, amid pressures from tariffs. Adobe forecasts Amazon Prime Day sales to top $23 billion A record $23.8 billion in sales is expected to be spent by consumers for Amazon Prime Days, Adobe said in a forecast released on July 7. That's a 28.4% increase year over year and $9.6 billion more than the comparable period last year. Last year, shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the two-day Amazon Prime event, according to Adobe. Adobe said discounts for Prime Days is expected to remain at historically high levels – on par with the major deals that consumers saw last year during the shorter sale. Overall, discounts across U.S. retailers will range from 10% to 24% off list prices with apparel expected to have the biggest deals at 24%, Adobe said. Other categories with major discounts include electronics (22%), televisions (17%), appliances (16%), toys (15%) furniture (14%), computers, (12%) and sporting goods (10%). Consumers are also expected to "trade up" to higher-ticket items, driven by strong discounts Adobe said. Tariffs are affecting consumer purchase plans U.S. shoppers, in two separate surveys ahead of Prime Days, said looming tariffs were playing a role in how they are shopping. In a 2025 summer spending survey of 1,024 U.S. shoppers by Smarty, an online shopping rewards app, shoppers were pretty evenly split in how tariffs were affecting their shopping habits for the Amazon sales. Thirty-two percent of shoppers said they were being more selective about purchases due to budget constraints, while 25% were planning to buy more items to avoid anticipated future price increases. Another 23% said they would focus specifically on categories likely to be affected by tariffs. "This year's July Prime Day represents a perfect storm of seasonal shopping and economic anxiety," Vipin Porwal, founder and CEO at Smarty, said in a press release. "Consumers are leveraging the discounts not just for immediate needs, but as a hedge against potential future price increases in tariff-affected categories. Prime Day will be an early indicator for consumer savviness in using major sales events as opportunities to make strategic purchases ahead of anticipated price changes." In another study of 1,000 consumers by Ankeneo, more than half or 57% of those surveyed said tariffs are impacting their Prime Day shopping habits with 25% saying they planned to skip or buy less because of possible price hikes. Four percent of shoppers surveyed said they planned to shop with other retailers, according to the survey by Ankeneo, a software company that works with retailers on its products. Some sellers are not participating in Amazon Prime Day sale Some third-party merchants who previously sold China-made goods during Amazon's July event told Reuters earlier this year that they would be sitting out this year or reducing the amount of discounted merchandise they offer. The pullback, Reuters reported, was a way for sellers to protect profit margins amid the U.S China trade war. In April, Kim Vaccarella, chief executive of China-made tote bag company Bogg Bag, told Reuters that she had decided to skip Prime Day this year. Vaccarella said she wanted to retain some of her unsold U.S. inventory and hoped to sell to retailers and smaller, independent shops, at full price or for smaller discounts. She had also halted production of the bags, which sell for $70 to $200 on Amazon, while she worked to move manufacturing to Cambodia and Vietnam. Smaller third-party Amazon sellers are more impacted by tariff costs than larger retailers, said Katherine Black, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney where she leads food, drug and mass market retail. "There have been a number of small suppliers that have said 'Look, I did some forward buys, but I'm holding that inventory to try to sell it close to full price to manage my exposure and I'm not going to participate this year,' " Black told USA TODAY. When is Amazon Prime Day 2025? Dates, deals and what to know about summer sales event Good deals will still be available There will still be plenty of deals for shoppers to choose from during Prime Days, Black said. She anticipates potentially seeing what she called big, showcase deals each day from big-named brands. "Those are techniques we'll see when retailers are trying to drive traffic," she said. Lauren Beitelspacher, a professor in the marketing division of Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, whose area of study includes retail thinks the Prime Day event will be successful, especially since consumers are more price-conscious right now with tariffs and there is tariff confusion. "I think customers are just really looking for a deal wherever they can get one," she told USA TODAY. Ten percent tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. began in April, with additional "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from more than 70 countries. President Donald Trump later delayed the reciprocal tariffs until July 9. The White House announced on July 7 that the deadline would be extended to August 1. Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@ or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @ on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.
Tom's Guide
25-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
Three UK is DOWN — Live updates on nationwide network outage
Three network customers across the UK are facing a major mobile outage this morning, with issues beginning in the early hours of Wednesday, June 25. Many users report being unable to make voice calls. According to Down Detector, problems started around 7:45 a.m. BST, and the disruption also impacts mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that rely on Three's infrastructure — including Smarty and iD Mobile. The incident shares some similarities with a serious outage earlier this year, during which even emergency calls were briefly disrupted. While we've confirmed that 999 calls are now functional, standard voice calls and WiFi calling are still experiencing widespread issues. We're tracking the situation live — here's what we know so far, with real-time updates as the outage continues.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Calls hit by Three mobile phone network outage
Three has apologised after thousands of Britons were unable to make calls following an outage. The mobile network said users were being impacted by 'an issue affecting voice services'. However, it said that data services, such as 5G, had not been impacted and that these could therefore be used to make calls. The Down Detector outage website highlighted a spike in Three users reporting issues on Wednesday, with more than 9,000 reports. In a statement on social media, the company said: 'We're aware of an issue affecting voice services and are working hard to fix it. 'Data services are working normally, so calls can be placed via third-party messaging apps. 'We're really sorry for any inconvenience caused.' Other phone network brands run by Three, such as Smarty and ID Mobile, were also affected as a result. Smarty released a similar statement to Three on social media apologising to its customers. It comes weeks after Three UK completed its £15 billion mega-merger with competitor Vodafone to create one of the UK's largest telecoms companies. The new VodafoneThree business has around 27 million customers.
