Dive Brief:
- Target and Walmart are facing Amazon head-on, announcing longer sales events that both start on June 20 — a day earlier than Prime Day.
- On Wednesday, Target announced that its digital sales event, called Target Deal Days, will span three full days ending June 22. Consumers don't need a membership to take advantage of deals across all categories, including food and beverage. Perks like same-day fulfillment and 5% off digital gift cards are also available.
- Walmart's upcoming savings event, Deals for Days, features online and special store-only deals ending June 23, according to an announcement emailed to Retail Dive. The retailer said shoppers can find "Black Friday like savings" in multiple categories, including exclusive items and products from marketplace sellers.
Dive Insight:
Amazon's shopping event hauls billions of dollars globally and potentially attracts more Prime members over the course of two days. As major retailers announce additional perks to their own sales events overlapping Prime Day (which spans June 21 and 22), it appears they're competing for a bigger slice of consumers' spending dollars.
Last year, when consumers were inclined to shop more online, Prime Day cashed in an estimated $10.4 billion worldwide, according to Digital Commerce 360.
But the lack of membership requirement on some rival retailers' sales events may pull potential shoppers away from Amazon. Research from Profitero showed that shoppers are just as likely to take advantage of sales at other retailers as they would on Amazon, and retailers are increasingly running competing sales during the event.
Target also seems to be leveraging its variety of fulfillment service options surrounding its stores, such as drive-up and order pickup.
While not directly competing with Prime Day, Nordstrom also recently announced its anniversary sale at a later date this summer, from July 28 through Aug. 8.
While studies suggest household savings have increased throughout the pandemic, causing optimism for retailers, consumers' concerns around job expectations and the condition of the economy may complicate the outlook for the industry.
