Amazon Prime Day faces fierce competition from Walmart, Target summer sales

Summer markdowns are colliding this year, and the fight is no longer just about who posts the lowest sticker price. Amazon, Walmart and Target are running overlapping sales events, but the best bargains are increasingly tied to paid or gated loyalty programs, which can erase the value if you sign up only to chase one weekend of discounts.

Walmart Deals began June 22 and runs through June 28, with thousands of offers on electronics, fashion, toys, furniture, skincare and early back-to-school essentials. Online discounts started at 12:01 a.m. ET, while stores opened at 6 a.m. local time, and Walmart+ members got early access to select hot deal drops in the first 24 hours. That matters for households stocking up on basics now, since school supplies, furniture and everyday essentials are exactly the kind of items many families will buy anyway this month.

Amazon Prime Day begins June 23 and runs through June 26, with millions of deals available only to Prime members. Amazon says new offers will drop as often as every five minutes during select periods, and “Today’s Big Deals” will appear three times a day at 12 a.m., 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The sale covers Amazon devices, groceries, fashion, beauty, travel, patio and outdoor goods, and back-to-school essentials, along with deal guides, a chance to win free groceries for a year and shopping help through Alexa.

The scale of Amazon’s push reflects how central Prime Day has become to the company’s retail calendar. Amazon launched the event on July 15, 2015, to celebrate Prime members on Amazon’s 20th birthday, and it says last year’s Prime Day was its biggest ever, with customers saving billions across more than 35 product categories. Amazon also said independent sellers, most of them small and medium-sized businesses, posted record sales, a sign that the event has become as much a marketplace engine as a consumer promotion.

Target’s Target Circle Deal Days runs June 23 through June 26, with early access for Target Circle 360 members starting June 22. Target says the sale offers up to 45% off thousands of items across apparel, beauty, home, toys and essentials, but the event is limited to Target Circle or Target Circle 360 members. That paid 360 tier costs $99 a year, which means the discount has to be large enough, and the shopping list big enough, to justify the fee. For shoppers comparing the three sales, the clearest wins are in categories they were already planning to buy, while the weakest deal is any offer that requires a membership that never pays for itself.