Forget Christmas in July. Walmart is gearing up for another type of midsummer sale.
In response to Amazon’s Prime Day—a one-day shopping event happening on July 15 that’s set to offer Black Friday-like discounts exclusively to members of its paid subscription service—the retailer is countering with its own summertime specials.
Starting Monday, Walmart customers only have to spend $35 online to qualify for free shipping (down from the previous minimum threshold of $50) for at least a month, while on Wednesday, prices on more than 2,000 items available online will be rolled back for at least 90 days.
Prime Day, meanwhile, begins at midnight PST on Wednesday, and will announce new deals to Prime members as often as every 10 minutes throughout the following 24 hours.
It’s not the first time Walmart has challenged the online behemoth. Back in May the retailer announced it was testing a Prime-like shipping option on an invitation-only basis: For $50 a year, e-commerce customers can avail of free three-day shipping. By comparison, Amazon’s Prime service commands a $99 annual fee and guaranteed two-day shipping.
“We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale. But the idea of asking customers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn’t add up for us,” said a Walmart blog post Monday, throwing shade at Amazon, noting that its “awesome deals” will be available for everybody “with no hidden costs or admission fees.”
Of course, big summer blowout sales are nothing new: Target is nearing the end of its fifth annual “Black Friday in July” promotion, while Best Buy has its third planned for July 24-25.