Amazon asks, why wait for Black Friday when you can get Christmas deals today? – RetailWire - RetailWire

autosoto.blogspot.com

Oct 04, 2021

Why wait? Amazon.com announced today that “Black Friday-worthy deals” are available right now on its site. The retailing and tech giant is looking to get ahead of its rivals, decrease fulfillment stress over the course of the holiday season and respond directly to consumers who, no doubt, have also seen countless stories about limited supplies of popular gifts in the lead-up to Christmas.

The seasonal promotion launch is the earliest yet for Amazon, which moved its promotions up last year in response to conditions in the marketplace created by the pandemic. The company, which dwarfs its rivals for online sales (direct and third-party sales via its platform), has grabbed a larger share of overall retail sales during past holiday seasons.

Amazon said that it is offering discounts and other deals across virtually every product category. The company has also released its biggest-ever selection of gift guides in categories such as beauty, electronics, fashion, home and toys. It has also produced lists of favorite stocking stuffer gifts and those items that are most loved by its millions of customers.

Customers looking for special deals can go to amazon.com/epicdeals on the site, check them out on Amazon’s mobile app or by asking “Alexa, what are my deals?” Gift guides and holiday prep shops can be accessed via the amazon.com/gifts and amazon.com/holidayprep urls respectively.

“We’re excited to help customers get great holiday deals even earlier this year, including thousands of small business products,” said Dave Clark, CEO of worldwide consumer at Amazon. “Customers can confidently shop early knowing they are receiving incredible deals starting today, letting them get a head start on their holiday to-do lists so they can truly enjoy the holiday season.”

Amazon is expected once again to grab the biggest share of online sales during the holiday season, but the company’s year-over-year growth during Christmastime has slowed in recent years compared to accelerating rivals including Target and Walmart. Target’s digital sales were up 102 percent in the last two months of 2020 and Walmart posted a 69 percent gain for the holiday quarter.

Target said last week that it would kick off its Deal Days holiday promotion on October 10. The promotion, which will run for three days, marks the first time that Target has made all its deals available on all sales touchpoints to its customers.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How do you expect the dueling sales promotions to play out between Amazon and the largest retail chains this holiday season? What will retailers competing with Amazon, Target and Walmart need to do to stand out during the Christmas season this year?

Braintrust

"With little guarantee of a solid inventory position going into the traditional Black Friday sales period, retailers are wise to start promotions early. "