Amazon Prime Day has become a national holiday for the entire retail industry.
Kicking off its third annual Prime Day on Monday night, Amazon (AMZN) is offering new deals as often as every five minutes, with discounts on everything from its Echo and Kindle products to avocado brooches and Oreo-shaped teethers.
But for those who don’t have Prime (and don’t want to sign up for the free trial), the deals are abundant off Amazon.com, as retailers try to drum up more business in the slow summer months.
How retailers are cashing in on the Prime craze
eBay (EBAY) has “Their Prime Deal is Our Everyday Deal” stamped boldly across its site, making a jab at Amazon.
Aerie and its parent company American Eagle (AEO) are offering 30% off everything on its sites — for one day only.
American Eagle is even using the tagline — “We’ll take great jeans over 2-day shipping every time,” a direct reference to Amazon’s shipping policy. The only problem is that tons of jeans are available as Prime Day deals.
Forever 21 has designed its website with a flashing graphic of “Black Friday in July,” offering a 70% discount on select items. Macy’s (M) is using the same branding, giving customers an extra 25% off for the week and free shipping on all purchases Tuesday only.
Bloomingdale’s (M) even created two different categories for its sale — Deals and Steals — the former is a 25% discount and the latter offers huge discounts on existing sale items.
This mirrors Amazon’s two categories: Lightning — fleeting offers — and Spotlight deals, which are curated by the company.
Wal-Mart (WMT) is pushing its Google Home device, featuring it prominently on its website. The smart device is now marked down to $99, $10 more than the Echo.
Kohl’s (KSS) is offering 30% off everything on its site for one day only. Meanwhile, Sears (SHLD) has a “Summer Splash” sale with free shipping and no minimum on hundreds of doorbusters.
Gap (GPS) is giving customers 30-40% discounts and free shipping on Gap and Old Navy brands.
High-end & specialty stores
In slightly higher-end retail, Hudson’s Bay’s (HBC.TO) Saks and Lord & Taylor department stores are advertising 15%-30% off select items. Lord & Taylor has free shipping sitewide.
Even in homeware, Williams Sonoma (WSM) has free shipping and select bedding at Pottery Barn is marked down as much as 60%.
Retailers first jumped on the opportunity to push their summer sales on Prime Day last year.
What was once an “in-store offer only” has become “online offer only” for these retailers. For a few days at least, beleaguered retailers are trying to capture at least a handful of Amazon’s clicks.
Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm.
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