Tomorrow is Prime Day. If you somehow managed to miss the media blitz that is Amazon’s newest attempt to get you to pay $99 a year for free 2-day shipping and access to the Prime network, let me explain.
On July 15, Amazon is offering deals “better than Black Friday.” The trick is you must be an Amazon Prime member. The company’s main drive to make you a Prime member is loyalty. If you feel that you’ve already paid to be a customer, then you are less likely to shop at a competitor.
Great news for Amazon, but a potential crisis for its major retail adversaries, particularly Walmart.America’s original box store (and ecommerce pioneer in its own right) is not sitting on the sidelines. Instead the blue and yellow behemoth has gone on the offensive with a new sales campaign of its own.
According to a blog post by Walmart’s CEO, its sale is for those who “see no rhyme or reason for paying a premium to save.” The corresponding graphics announce a sale with no admission fee. Walmart takes direct aim at Prime with the tagline, “You shouldn’t have to spend $100 to get great deals.”
Walmart has not only stolen Amazon’s story, but it’s also created a new narrative, making Amazon seem greedy and expensive even. EXPENSIVE in the face of the largest sale the online retailer has ever launched. Plus, Walmart’s offerings will run for 90 days; 89 longer than Amazon.
The country’s second-largest employer also timed its counterstrike perfectly, making its announcement less than 48 hours before the launch of Prime Day. This gave Walmart the entire day of news coverage while making sure that Amazon would have almost no time to respond. It now owns the news cycle leading into its competitor’s single largest sale ever.
While Walmart dodged a bullet, Amazon may soon find itself dealing with a crisis instead. If Prime Day fails, it will go down as the great idea that almost was rather than the start of a new shopping tradition.
It may also raise questions about whether Amazon took the right approach to gaining new Prime members. The sale positions membership as a club fee similar to what you pay to shop at Costco or Sam’s Club (ironically owned by Walmart). It does nothing to highlight Amazon Fresh, Amazon subscription service or Amazon’s streaming service. All are available only with a Prime membership.
No matter what the situation looks like when the dust settles, Walmart provided a “prime” example of how to take control of your competitor’s strategy and use it to your own mega-sized advantage.
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