Amazon has turned Prime Day into a summer shopping holiday—and rival retailers like Target want to claim a piece of that spending next week.
Target is running “Deal Days” on Monday and Tuesday, July 15 and 16, the same dates as Amazon’s two-day Prime Day event. Target said it will offer 40% off some furniture, 30% off some small appliances and cookware, and other deals on toys, sporting goods and bedding.
Prepare yourself … We just announced our biggest sale of the summer! Target Deal Days kick off July 15 through July 16. Get all the details here: https://t.co/6XzigIn6RB pic.twitter.com/YZN6tEPnOW
— Target News (@TargetNews) June 25, 2019
Prime Day has become Amazon’s annual summer show of force in the shopping world. Amazon uses the savings event to spotlight its own products and hook new members on Prime, its $119 annual free-shipping program. This year Amazon says Prime Day will include more than one million deals, such as steep discounts on its own Alexa-enabled devices.
Mark the calendar for July 15 and 16! #PrimeDay is coming and will be a two-day parade of deals. Woot woot! More details at https://t.co/DkQdIYQjFG. pic.twitter.com/sRYWAiqmLt
— Amazon.com (@amazon) June 25, 2019
Target is looking to compete in part by playing up the fact that customers don’t need a membership to score deals. This year’s two-day event is an expansion: Target held a one-day sale last year, which it called “one of our biggest days of the year for online sales.”
On Amazon Prime Day, site and app crash; shoppers left in lurch instead see photos of dogs https://t.co/0oRyiMzySc pic.twitter.com/PaqeonWLHV
— USA TODAY Money (@USATODAYmoney) July 16, 2018
Other retailers are trying to cash in next week, too.
EBay made a more pointed reference to Amazon in its announcement, needling the company for its periodic website outages last year on Prime Day. EBay said it will launch a “Crash Sale” on July 15 that will include “hot deals on top brands” over 50% off, with free shipping and no membership required.
EBay is trolling Amazon over last year’s Prime Day outage with a ‘crash sale’ https://t.co/QJt8Sf7BFz
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) July 2, 2019
“If history repeats itself and Amazon crashes that day,” eBay said, the company will include more deals. That’s a nod to the fact that Amazon’s website had periodic outages last year on Prime Day.
That sale is part of a larger series of sales on eBay that starts July 1 and includes savings on cookware, camping gear and home appliances.
Nordstrom also hopes to capitalize on the summer version of Black Friday, albeit a few days after the Prime Day event. The company announced it will launch its two-week “anniversary sale” on July 19, with discounts on brands such as Topshop and Madewell.
Mark your calendar! Our Anniversary Sale is coming. #Nordstrom Cardmembers shop Early Access Friday, July 12 in store and online at 12:30pm ET. Everyone can shop Friday, July 19! Brand new arrivals ON SALE from Madewell, Topshop, Zella & more. Learn more: https://t.co/dOW9NIL5cU pic.twitter.com/qTylMMw1S2
— Nordstrom (@Nordstrom) June 24, 2019
Amazon’s Prime Day is in its fifth year. It allows the company to flex its muscles over its competition and boost its quarterly sales numbers. More importantly, Amazon uses the savings event to spotlight its own products and hook new members on Prime.
It’s not a surprise that other retailers want to chip away at Amazon on Prime Day. Although the company doesn’t disclose revenue from previous Prime Days, Amazon said last year’s sale was its “biggest global shopping event ever.”
“Prime Day has changed the terrain of the summer for retailers,” Adobe Digital Insights director Taylor Schreiner previously told CNN Business. “Retailers need an effective strategy to address it. The only guaranteed losing play is to ignore it.”