Walmart, Target to Hold Sales Events Opposite Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day won't be the only big sales event in October. Walmart and Target have both announced plans to host their own online sales events that just happen to coincide with Amazon's annual shopping fest. On Monday, Walmart said it will be holding a "Big Save" online event that runs Oct. 11 through Oct. 15. Walmart will offer Black Friday-like savings on thousands of items during the nearly week-long event, including electronics, toys, beauty items and more.

On Tuesday, Target laid out plans for its Deal Days event, which will take place on Oct. 13 and Oct. 14. The online event will feature deals on hundreds of thousands of items, more than double last year. Consumers can sign up for the free Target Circle loyalty program to access all the best deals, and for the first time, all deals will span the entire two-day event, giving consumers more time to shop deep discounts across electronics, home, essentials, toys, beauty and more. In addition, Target will make most deals available via its contactless Drive Up and Order Pickup, and deals can be received via same-day delivery with Shipt. Target added that select deals will also be available on its website starting Oct. 5. The retailer plans to offer Black Friday pricing all November, and will extend its price match guarantee beyond 14 days for items that are "Black Friday deals" between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24.

Total Retail's Take: On Sunday, Amazon announced that its Prime Day, which usually takes place in July, will be held Oct. 13 through Oct. 14, pushed back this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the dates may be different, the spirit of Amazon Prime Day will live on, with Amazon featuring savings and deep discounts for its Prime members on more than 1 million deals across every category. And as in years past, competing retailers, including Target, Walmart, and others, are piggy-backing on the increased online traffic during Prime Day to host their own sales in an effort to get a piece of the online shopping pie. The new Prime Day dates could alter the dynamics of the event, however. For example, Prime members may buy their holiday gifts earlier than usual this year to take advantage of the deals since the event is taking place closer to the holiday shopping season. Prime Day's original premise was to get consumers shopping during the otherwise sleepy summer months in the retail calendar. Amazon has created the demand, and its biggest competitors are trying to capitalize on it.