It looks like Amazon isn't the only one eyeing a big payday this July 12 as its chief rivals Target, Sears and Walmart are also launching their own discount deals to match the popular online store's offers.
Amazon started its annual Prime Day event as a way to get a leg up on its competitors when it comes to giving consumers the best deals on hot items, such as smartphones, tablets and video game consoles, much like during Black Fridays.
The event's premise is that for 24 hours, online shoppers can visit Amazon's website to check out for discounts on certain items. New deals come up every five minutes throughout the entire day to make sure that each customer gets to pick a discount on his or her chosen item.
During last year's Amazon Prime Day, the company was able to offer as many as 100,000 discount deals exclusively to members of Amazon Prime. This translated to about 34.4 million online purchases from different parts of the world. The event was so successful that it has even exceeded Amazon's previous records for post-Thanksgiving Black Friday orders.
The success of 2015's event has Amazon looking for another big payoff this year, with the company promising to give even bigger deals for online shoppers this month.
However, duplicating last year's sales may be a more difficult task this time around as Target, Sears, Banana Republic and Walmart are also slashing their prices to lure customers away from Amazon.
Target is set to offer shoppers with several deals on its home items this month, though the retailer made itself clear that its discounts are more in line with its back-to-school promos. Target said customers can enjoy great discounts on its school supplies, apparel and backpacks all throughout July and August.
Other retailers, such as Sears, The Limited, Bealls and Banana Republic, have also began offering large discounts on items as early as the week before Amazon's Prime Day on Tuesday, July 12. The Limited is giving customers a 50 percent discount on brand new items, while Banana Republic is slashing an additional 50 percent off of its items through July 11.
Walmart, on the other hand, is taking a slightly different route in order to eat into Amazon's share of the consumer pie. Not only is the retailer offering large discounts on its items, but it's also providing customers the chance to try ShippingPass for 30 days for free. This promo allows Walmart shoppers to avail of the company's unlimited 2-day shipping service.
Customers who are already subscribed to Walmart's ShippingPass service get to have another month added to their subscription.
Last year, Walmart tried to lure customers away from Amazon's Prime Day by offering customers who made a minimum $35 worth of orders with free shipping service. The company also blasted Amazon for only offering discount deals to shoppers who are willing to pay an additional fee.
"We've heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale," Walmart said. "But the idea of asking customers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn't add up for us."
