Amazon Prime Day draws competition from Walmart and other retailers

Amazon Prime Day is here but many customers are still trying to figure out what that means for them. Today comes down to a few factors, but those factors really say more about the retail industry as a whole – than it does about Amazon’s willingness to unleash some good deals onto their marketplace.

The first thing people took notice of as soon as Amazon Prime Day was announced, was the way other retailers reacted. Retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and many others put together deal days, some of which have already passed, and others that are still coming up. Whether the retailer moved to trump Amazon Prime Day before it happened, or they elected to wait and see how the market looked afterward – by selecting a date later in July – the bottom line was really clear. Retailers as a whole saw the opportunity that Amazon capitalized on and wanted to join in the sales opportunity.

For the customer this meant more choice in terms of deals. While it wouldn’t just be tech products, which were getting discounted, there were other products getting discounted as well in the housewares department, as well as a few other areas, like automotive. However, when it comes to a large scale trend like this, the companies surely aren’t thinking about the customer when they unleash deals like this. They’re thinking about their bottom line – and how retailers can maximize their opportunity.

It has been an average year for retailers in many ways. A strong spring and summer, which picked up for the slow start to the year – highlighted by high inventory levels for most stores. Put it all together and it isn’t a surprise that Amazon or any other retailer decided that they wanted to work on deals like this, to draw customers in and get them spending money. For all intents and purposes, the economy is as good as it ever has been in the last 10 years, so it certainly is the right time to start getting customers to spend money.

The second thing for customers is that the best deals probably aren’t actually today at all. From the retail perspective, there is still a major holiday shopping season coming. The biggest one of the year, in fact. Back to school season is by far more beneficial to retailers than even holiday shopping season, so the money that will be coming in their doors in a month or so will be plentiful. As result, the deals will be plentiful then as well.

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Does that mean people should rush out to buy things between 9am and 3pm like many have suggested? Well, on certain items of course, there will be good deals. Better deals than you will find on most days. However, Amazon is typically a hotbed of good deals. To say that all of the good deals will be happening on one day, in one six-hour window, would be overstating the promotions just a little bit. Look for good deals, but definitely don’t be overzealous about capitalizing on those deals until you know they are actually the best deal available. Especially with other retailers joining in the dealing.

The third thing for customers to remember is that just like on Black Friday, July 4th, or any other major holiday shopping day that is well marketed – it is more about getting you inside their “walls,” and spending money than it is about giving you the best deal. Sure, you might have gotten a great deal on that gadget that you were waiting for a while to pick up – but be weary about getting roped into purchasing several other things, too, which might not be as good of a deal. Also, anyone can sign up for a free month of Amazon Prime, so that means those who are looking for a good deal don’t have to wait for anything in particular to come up, or pay for that massive subscription today. It can even be cancelled before the subscription comes due to pay.