Walmart vs Amazon Prime Day: 5 Key Details for Shoppers

Shoppers are gearing up for Black Friday in July as the Amazon Prime Day deals kick off on July 15th and a Walmart Prime Day alternative joins the day of sales with a lower barrier to entry.

Amazon Prime Day is dedicated to Amazon prime customers who pay $99 a year to get free two-day shipping, access to Amazon Music and Amazon Instant Video. The Walmart Prime Day alternative is open to anyone who wants to shop at Walmart, even though Walmart does offer a Prime-like shipping service.

Walmart is already in full force with a Dare to Compare promotion that showcases items that meet or beat Amazon prices, but that is just the start.

Here’s what you need to know about the Amazon Prime Day vs Walmart Prime Day shopping events.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

The Amazon Prime Day deals start at midnight Pacific on July 15th with new deals as often as every 10 minutes and seven deals of the day that deliver amped up savings. As part of the Amazon Prime Day event there are also contests to win up to $10,000 in gift cards.

[contextly_sidebar id=”pr4PPMaASVgMtYtB7zElednRyY9dRo2w”]You must be an Amazon Prime member to get access to the Amazon Prime Day deals. Amazon promises a wide-range of deals for the shopping event it bills as offering “More deals than Black Friday.” Shopping categories include,

“Prime members can find deals on products across categories including electronics, toys, video games, movies, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items and more. Members will enjoy deals on items perfect for summer adventures, their to-do list, family road trips, back to school supplies, and everyday essentials. Prime members can shop on any device, including smartphones and tablets and enjoy deals anytime, and anywhere.”

In addition to these deals, there are also special Amazon PrimePantry Prime Day deals on essentials. Amazon PrimePantry delivers home goods to your door.

What is the Walmart Prime Day Alternative?

The Walmart Prime Day competition isn’t just a few discounts and deals. Walmart cut the minimum for free shipping to $35 on an order, down from $35 and is already promoting a Dare to Compare sales special with items that are at the same price or lower than Amazon’s price.

Walmart offers a Prime rival with ShippingPass, but it is not required for these deals and not available in all areas.

With a Walmart Prime Day offering in the works, the company promises thousands of rollbacks online that allow shoppers to save without a membership.

“We just don’t believe you should pay a fee to get a better price,” Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala told USA Today.

In addition to the price cuts, look for “special atomic deals,” that deliver deeper discounts. We don’t know what these deals are just yet.

Sign up for Amazon Prime Trial Now

If you plan to shop on Amazon Prime Day and you don’t already have an Amazon Prime subscription you can [easyazon_link identifier=”B0115XV5ZY” locale=”US” tag=”gbm-ea-20″]sign up for a free trial[/easyazon_link] if you have not had one before.

Signing up for a free one month trial is easy, but if you want to get the Amazon Prime Day deals, you should do this now, not later as deals will go fast.

Prime Day Deals Will Go Fast

If there is one thing we know from covering Black Friday deals for the last five years, it’s that hot deals on hyped up shopping days go very fast.

Plan out how much you are willing to spend and what you want to buy, and if you see it go on sale snap it up instead of waiting.

When in doubt add the item to your shopping cart and then do the research, but keep in mind you may only have a short time to check out before someone else can buy that item.  

Watch out for Bad Amazon & Walmart Prime Day Deals

Be on the lookout for bad Amazon Prime Day deals and bad Walmart prime day deals on July 15th. With the hype behind this shopping event many consumers may jump on any deal that the retailers put out, and end up with a poor product.

Watch out for off-brand electronics and tablets especially. Many times during Black Friday we see tablets for sale that offer no significant savings and often come from companies with poor track records for quality.

You should definitely add an item to your cart fast if you think it is a good deal, but make sure you look at user reviews and check the regular price at other places before you check out so that you don’t buy a lemon.