Amazon.com Inc. fired up the holiday shopping season with its second major sales event of the year as rivals from Walmart to Best Buy joined in with discounts to woo customers grappling with inflation-squeezed Christmas budgets.
The two-day “Prime Early Access Sale” shopping event for Amazon members, which starts Tuesday, is much like the Prime Day summer marketing blitz and will compete with early discounts from rival retailers.
“Retailers will likely fight harder and earlier for potentially fewer dollars this year. The thinking is that the early bird catches the dollars,” said Carol Spieckerman, president at consultancy Spieckerman Retail.
Walmart Inc. is holding a “Rollbacks and More” sale event from Oct. 10–13 to counter Amazon’s discount days, with deals on everything from Hot Wheels toys to luggage….