Walmart and Amazon Set October Discount Showdown Before Black Friday

Walmart Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., the nation’s two largest retailers, are preparing overlapping promotional events in early October as they compete for holiday shoppers weeks before the traditional Black Friday rush. Walmart’s seven-day “Deals & More” event begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on October 5 and continues through October 11.

Amazon’s “Prime Big Deal Days” is scheduled for October 6 and 7, creating a 48-hour period in which shoppers can compare prices between the two retailers. Amazon’s event will begin at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on October 6, while Walmart’s promotion will already be underway.

Access to the sales is a major point of difference. Walmart’s “Deals & More” requires no paid membership, so its discounts are available to all online and in-store shoppers. Amazon’s 48-hour promotion, by contrast, is restricted to members of its Prime subscription program.

Walmart has advertised savings of up to 50% on home products, along with discounts of as much as 40% on electronics and technology. Its offers also include up to 30% off toys, food, and Halloween merchandise; 25% off tools; and 20% off wellness items. The Arkansas-based retailer introduced Walmart+ in September 2020 to rival Amazon Prime, but it frequently uses open-access sales events to attract cost-conscious shoppers who do not want to pay annual subscription fees.

Amazon is promoting millions of deals across more than 35 categories, including seasonal items, major brands, and everyday essentials. The e-commerce company has already launched early discounts and is encouraging non-members to sign up for paid subscriptions or trial memberships to obtain the exclusive pricing.

The October timing is part of a broader, multi-year retail shift known as “holiday creep,” in which the traditional shopping season moves earlier into the autumn. Amazon helped establish the modern promotional calendar when it launched its first “Prime Day” in July 2015 to mark its 20th anniversary. The event’s success prompted competitors to create their own summer promotions.

Amazon expanded the approach in October 2022 by introducing a second annual discount event called the “Prime Early Access Sale.” That campaign later evolved into “Prime Big Deal Days,” the promotion scheduled for October 6 and 7.

Persistently high living costs and selective consumer spending have also extended the promotional calendar. Industry data indicates that spreading purchases across October and November allows families to distribute seasonal expenses over multiple pay periods instead of concentrating their spending during the late-November weekend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.