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Shopping season is underway with Amazon Prime Day
Amazon expected to bring in a ton of sales on Prime Day.
HOUSTON - It's hard to think about the holidays when the temperature is hovering near the 90's, but the Amazon Prime Day sale will be the unofficial start to the 'shopping season'.
The event started as a hook for Amazon to sign people up for Prime membership, and it made billions of dollars in the process.
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This year is expected to be no different, and there are a lot of retailers that would like a piece of that pie.
Money-saving expert Andrea Woroch says this year's Prime Day will be different, "Amazon Prime Day is, essentially, kicking off the holiday shopping season."
The annual sale is usually a summer thing, but the pandemic left Amazon too busy to offer it, until now. With the holidays so close, it provides opportunities and challenges for competitors.
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"They can't sit on the sideline and let Amazon take all those online sales," says Woroch, "They are going to get a bite of the action and offer their own deals."
- Walmart will compete with the Prime Day sale with The Big Save, offering a wide complement of products, for sale, online.
- Target's Deal Days will mirror Prime Day hours with special pricing available to Target's Circle-club members.
- Best Buy is putting an early spin on holiday shopping with a Black Friday Preview.
Together, they provide a wider range of choices that give consumers a little more control over getting what they want for a price they can afford.
Shopping 'now' also offers some other benefits, besides any deals you may find. It allows you to draw-out your spending, to make it more affordable, provided you make a budget, and stick to it.
It also increases the chance that items will be delivered well in advance of when you need them, rather than depending on quick-shipping that may not be able to deliver.