Dive Brief:
- Target and Amazon’s dueling October sale events return next month, according to company press releases Tuesday. Both companies will promote deals from Oct. 6 to Oct. 7.
- Amazon’s Big Deal Days sale for paid Prime members features discounts spanning fragrances from Phlur, Shark appliances, select groceries and more, with new drops both days. Ahead of the holidays, toy brand FAO Schwarz also has a new Amazon storefront, and Amazon created holiday gift lists for shoppers.
- The Target Circle Deal Days event is open to members of its free loyalty program, though customers paying for the Target Circle 360 membership will get access a day early. The event features deals on clothing, toys, holiday decor and more.
Dive Insight:
The leaves are just starting to fall in parts of the U.S., meaning it's that time of year again when major retailers — like Target and Walmart — often compete with e-commerce giant Amazon during sales events.
“Once fall arrives, there's so much to get ready for — the hosting, the decorating, the holiday gifting — and Prime Big Deal Days makes it easy to check it all off while saving," Carmen Nestares, Amazon’s vice president of North America marketing and Prime tech, said in a statement.
The return of the holiday season comes at a pivotal point for Target. The retailer has seen some progress on its broader turnaround effort in the recent fiscal quarters and is working to avoid the sales drop it saw in Q4 last year.
Target’s Q2 net sales increased 5.3% year over year to $26.5 billion, with sales in all core merchandising categories growing. However, the apparel and home categories saw lower rates of improvement during the period.
Target’s announcement for next month’s Circle Deals Day event highlights deals on many of its private label brands, such as kids clothing label Cat & Jack and furniture brand Threshold.
Amazon held its annual Prime Day sales event in June, marking a slightly earlier run from its usual July dates. The e-commerce company did not release its usual post-event press release following Prime Day this year, which typically outlines some of the best-selling products.
The company’s Q2 online store net sales grew 15% year over year to about $70.4 billion and physical store net sales grew 4% to reach nearly $5.8 billion.
