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Walmart takes on Amazon with its own version of Prime Day

 
Published July 14, 2015

The Walmart-Amazon rivalry continues this week as Walmart prepares to launch its own online shopping holiday on July 15, the same day as Amazon's inaugural "Prime Day."

Online retail giant, Amazon, announced last week that it will host a global online shopping extravaganza on the eve of the company's 20th birthday. On Wednesday, Amazon Prime members can take advantage of marked down prices on thousands of items offered for sale on Amazon.com.

Walmart plans to launch a similar sale on its e-commerce site the same day, which will include discounts on more than 2,000 items in categories like electronics, home and toys, which will last 90 days. This week Walmart.com also reduced its free shipping standard to purchases of $35 or more from $50 for the next month.

The Bentonville, Ark.,-based retailer called out Amazon for limiting lower prices on Prime Day to only customers who pay a yearly fee.

"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," reads a blog post on Walmart.com. "We're standing up for our customers and everyone else who sees no rhyme or reason for paying a premium to save."

An annual Prime membership costs $99, but first-time users can sign up for a 30-day free trial. In return, they get free shipping and other benefits. Prime members living in the U.S., England, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria can participate in the event.

Neither retailer is offering a glimpse into what items will be offered for sale at what price. But the mid-summer shopping push is meant to be "bigger than Black Friday," or so Amazon says.

Contact Justine Griffin at jgriffin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8467. Follow @SunBizGriffin.