Walmart To Launch Online Deals To Rival Amazon 'Prime Day'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Online retailer Amazon is promising more deals than Black Friday on "Prime Day" beginning at midnight on July 15.
The sale is to celebrate Amazon's 20th birthday and to draw in shoppers with new deals popping up every 10 minutes, CBS2's Meg Baker reported.
Now, Walmart has joined the trend -- offering 2,000 deals exclusively online that coincidentally begins Wednesday -- just like Amazon. Target has also announced they will have blowout deals.
"You have the number one brick and mortar store in the world going after the number one online retailer in the world and they are not messing around," said CBS News Financial Contributor Melody Hobson.
Shoppers, like Michelle Bondurant, are ready.
"Anything electronic, and clothing," Bondurant said. "I have a 23-year-old, so socks, underwear, shirts."
Unlike Amazon, Walmart says you don't have to join any club. As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported, Amazon deals are only available with Prime membership, offering free 2-day shipping but the membership costs $99 a year.
"The idea of asking customers to pay extra to save money just doesn't add up to us," said Walmart spokesperson Ravi Jariwala.
However, Amazon does offer a 30-day membership but you have to remember to cancel it if you don't want to pay the $99 after a month.
The deals at Amazon and Walmart begin at midnight.
But even with all of these deals erupting online, some shoppers say they still prefer the old fashioned way.
"It's more convenient, but I prefer to go straight to the source," Gisselly Balcacer said.
"I actually prefer to into the stores because I like to try out my clothing and I like to see if anything fits and look at the product and feel and test it," Joanna Lin said.
While the premise is the same as Black Friday, the discounts may be different. Think end-of-summer items like shorts, swimwear, and patio furniture.