Amazon is throwing a big birthday bash for Prime subscribers to celebrate the service’s 20th anniversary, but Walmart’s trying to spoil the party with a super sale of its own.
As tipped early in July, Amazon will celebrate its 20th birthday with an event called Prime Day on Wednesday, July 15. The event includes limited time, lighting deals that the retailer says will be better than what it offers on Black Friday. The sales begin at midnight, Pacific time on Wednesday and will continue all day.
The deals will include a variety of items including electronic devices, tools, toys, and pet supplies. In addition to the deals, anyone who listens to a song on Prime Music tomorrow will be entered into a draw to win Amazon gift cards worth anywhere from $1,00 to $25,000.
Amazon is also offering a contest open to anyone in the U.S., U.K., and Germany for the chance to win a trip to the Transparent Season 2 premiere. Transparent is Amazon’s critically acclaimed television series starring Jeffrey Tambor as a middle-aged man who comes out to his adult children as transgender.
To whet the appetite of Prime shoppers, Amazon published a few examples of deals that will be available at unannounced times on Wednesday. Some deals that tech fans will want to take notice of include:
- Fire TV Stick, $15 off
- Kindle, $30 off
- Fire HD 7, $60 off
- Fire HD 7 Kids Edition, $60 off
- 50-inch 4K TV bundle, under $1000
- Chromebook laptop, $199
The impact on you at home: Getting a few deals is nice, but let’s not forget what tomorrow’s event is really about: getting more Prime members for Amazon. The online retailer has found that Prime members make for a more loyal, and more frequent, customer base.
To gain more Prime members, Amazon says Prime Day will be open to anyone who signs up for a 30-day free trial Prime membership. Just don’t forget that when your 30 days are up you’ll be paying $100 a year for free two-day shipping and a bunch of other perks.
Cue your choice of the Empire or Rebel theme
Hoping to take the wind out of Amazon’s sales (yeah, I said it) Walmart is cooking up some deals of its own. “We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale,” Walmart said in a blog post. “We’re kicking off some awesome deals this week that will be available for everybody with no hidden costs or admission fees, and they won’t be available for just one day.”
Oh, snap! Them’s fightin’ words Walmart. In addition to the deals this week, Walmart says its minimum order for free shipping will be cut from $50 to $35 for the duration of the summer.