If Amazon.com crashes during Prime Day, eBay Inc. will be there for online shoppers. The ecommerce marketplace says it will be ready with a July 15 “crash” sale “if history repeats itself and Amazon.com goes down that day.” EBay has planned a series of online shopping events beginning July 1 and running for three weeks, the online marketplace says.
Target Corp. is also reviving its summer sale timed to coincide with Amazon Prime Day.
Three weeks of discounts
EBay’s crash sale is part of three weeks of discounted online shopping events. Products will include electronics and home items, fashion items and sporting goods, among others. “EBay is primed to deliver exactly what shoppers want during this year’s crash sale,” says Jay Hanson, vice president and chief operating officer, Americas, as the marketplace tries to capitalize on the “massive” July shopping season.
Featured events in July on eBay.com include:
- The crash sale, July 15: “Doorbuster” savings on brands including LG, Apple, Samsung, KitchenAid, Garmin and others with savings up to 50% off.
- July 4th savings, July 1-7: Discounts up to 85% on summer products and appliances, such as stand mixers, cookware, robotic vacuums, camping gear and outdoor toys.
- Hot deals for hot days, July 8-22: New deals launching every day on technology, smart home devices and home appliances.
Target Corp. is countering Amazon Prime Day with “deal days” July 15-16, aiming to duplicate its event in 2018. “Last year’s Target.com one-day sale was one of our biggest days of the year for online sales,” says Mark Tritton, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Target.
Rarely on sale
Target says its deal days offers include “rarely-on-sale, exclusive home, apparel and toy brands, discounts on hundreds of thousands of items and new deals each day.” Specific promotions will be announced at a later date. Target is pitching its new same-day delivery service, free two-day shipping (with a minimum $35 purchase or use of its RedCard credit card) and drive-up service as part of the two-day sale event.
Target, No. 16 in the Internet Retailer 2019 Top 1000, announced earlier this month that it will enable Target.com shoppers in 47 states to receive roughly 65,000 items in as soon as an hour for a $9.99 flat fee. It is using Shipt, the delivery service it bought in 2017, to fulfill the orders.
While Target previously offered same-day delivery to members of its Shipt delivery service program, which costs $99 per year, it has expanded the option to a wider audience by allowing shoppers to choose same-day delivery on an order-by-order basis rather than requiring them to sign up for an annual membership. It also launched a dedicated section of Target.com, Target.com/sameday, which features the eligible items.
Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1 in the Top 1000) announced Tuesday that its Prime Day sales event will run 48 hours this year, starting at midnight Pacific time on July 15. That’s 12 hours longer than the 36 hours the sale ran last year.
The sale will be available to consumers in 18 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Australia. That’s one more than last year thanks to the addition of United Arab Emirates.
Amazon created Prime Day in 2015 to celebrate its 20th year in business. While the initial event was 24 hours, Amazon has expanded its length each of the past three years. The sale ran 30 hours in 2017 and 36 hours last year.
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