landscape-1436854909-landscape-1436798475-gettyimages-463871936Have anything you’ve been itching to buy lately? Wait until Wednesday. That’s when Amazon and Walmart are going head to head with sales that promise to beat Black Friday. Yes, you read that right.

Last week, Amazon announced it was going to celebrate its 20th birthday with “Prime Day” on July 15, featuring new deals every 10 minutes. But rival Walmart isn’t going to be outdone. USA Today reports that the big-box retailer is going to launch an online-only sale the very same day, with more than 2,000 “rollbacks” in categories like electronics, home goods, and toys. They’re also lowering the minimum purchase for free shipping to $35 from $50.

Most of Walmart’s deals will last a whopping 90 days online, so even if you miss the start of the sale, you won’t necessarily miss out. The company is promising some secret “atomic deals” too, but won’t give any details yet.

In a blog post, Walmart took a dig at Amazon for restricting their deal to Prime customers. “We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale. But the idea of asking customers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn’t add up for us,” president and CEO Fernando Madeira writes. (To be fair, you can sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime membership just for the sale, and simply cancel it if you don’t want to keep it.)

Walmart’s big move is part of the store’s effort to boost online sales. And when two companies compete on discounts, the shoppers win. So start thinking about holiday gifts now — and compare both stores before you take out your credit card.

Comments

comments