Walmart Has An Answer To Amazon's Prime Day, But The Deals Run Even Longer

Just like last year, Walmart will once again go head-to-head with Amazon this October. No doubt spurred by Amazon's announcement of its Prime Big Deal Days on October 7th and 8th, Walmart will be rolling out its first big holiday shopping event of the season: the "Walmart Deals" promotion from October 7th to the 12th. That's one day earlier than Amazon's sale and four days longer in total, and, unlike Prime Big Deal Days, you won't have to have a paid membership to shop the deals.

As always, Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days will be exclusive to Prime members. That means you'll have to pay a fee of $14.99 per month or $139 annually to get the discounts (unless you're someone who qualifies for a discounted Amazon Prime membership). It gives Walmart the chance to strategically leverage more accessibility over Amazon: Its sale is open to all shoppers both online and in stores, no exclusions. That said, Walmart+ members still get a leg up. They'll have early access to shop deals beginning the evening of October 6th.

Walmart Deals shoppers can expect to see tens of thousands of deals across toys, fashion, electronics, home goods, décor, food, beauty, and more. Highlights from Walmart's pre-sale preview include $400 off an ASUS 16" gaming laptop, $100 off a Vizio 50-inch QLED Smart TV, $52 off a set of Hart power tools, and nearly $60 off holiday décor from the Walmart-exclusive "Mr. Christmas" line. All in all, some of these savings add up to as much as 50% off their usual price.

If you're a Walmart+ subscriber, these savings can be coupled with your same-day delivery, early morning delivery, or Express Delivery in as little as 30 minutes (depending on in-store availability, of course). Walmart is also using this sale as a chance to push its AI-powered shopping assistant, Sparky, as a way to compare options and get gift ideas throughout the Walmart Deals promo. Similarly, Prime Big Deal Days, which will showcase Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus.

It's worth mentioning just how close we are to Black Friday, which will hit a little over a month after Walmart Deals and Prime Big Deal Days wrap up. Even though these major retailers are starting to compete for customers' attention earlier and earlier each holiday season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday still represent the peak shopping events of the season. So what's the point of these October sales?

It's difficult to point to any one reason in particular beyond "consumer is king." That said, Walmart's focus on discounted Halloween décor and seasonal items, such as over $100 off a five-foot inflatable pumpkin ghost, gives shoppers a chance to get all their decorations in order before the official start of the holiday season. (Which, by Black Friday, is already well underway.)

No matter who you side with in the Amazon Prime vs. Walmart+ debate, the first week of October is shaping up to be as much of an annual tradition as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Nevertheless, we can safely assume that Black Friday will bring bigger and more widespread markdowns than either one of these October promos.