Amazon, Target to both host fall holiday sales extravaganzas
Early October will see two major retailers get an early start to the holiday promotional season.
Once again, Amazon is officially kicking off its holiday promotional season with a sales event called Prime Big Deal Days, and Target is competing with an overlapping edition of its “Target Circle Deal Days” early holiday blockbuster.
Details of both promotions follow:
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days
For the fifth consecutive year, Amazon is offering a fall version of its Prime Day sales extravaganza. The online giant debuted Prime Big Deal Days, the fall version of its annual Prime Day 48-hour sales extravaganza, in October 2022.
The 2026 edition begins at 12:01 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, Oct. 6 and runs through Wednesday, Oct. 7. The event will only be open to members of the paid Amazon Prime membership program and features exclusive deals across the retailer’s product assortment. Customers who are not Prime members can participate via free 30-day trial membership.
A “Big Deals” features will offer new products drops each day, including savings on the newest models from brands like Shark, Princess Polly, and Soundcore by Anker. New drops will launch three times daily at midnight, 8 a.m., and 1 p.m. PDT, with trending products and new releases across beauty, tech, kitchen, fashion, and home. Deals will be available only while supplies last.
"Once fall arrives, there's so much to get ready for—the hosting, the decorating, the holiday gifting—and Prime Big Deal Days makes it easy to check it all off while saving," said Carmen Nestares, VP of North America marketing and Prime tech. "With over one million items at Amazon's lowest price of the year so far, this is the perfect time to get ahead on seasonal shopping."
Early Prime Big Deal Days are available starting Tuesday, Sep. 15, including Amazon Essentials private label apparel items starting at $10 pet supplies starting at $5 and household staples from the Amazon Basics private label functional products brand starting at $3, and savings on Amazon devices such as Alexa and Kindle. See more early deals here.
Other Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offerings include a top 100-plus deals on Halloween list including costumes and accessories starting at $5, candy under $10, party supplies, and decorations; as well as a top 100-plus toys list, a new dedicated Amazon storefront for toy retailer FAO Schwarz; and the dedicated Amazon Holiday Shop featuring curated top 100-plus gift lists across various themes and price points.
Prime members in 22 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. can shop Prime Big Deal Days this year. Dates may vary per country.
Target Circle Deal Days
For the fourth consecutive year, Target is running a fall early holiday promotion that is competitively timed with Prime Big Deal Days. Previously a weeklong event called Target Circle Week, Target Circle Deal Days will run Oct. 6-7 and offer members of the free Target Circle loyalty program up to 40% off thousands of items across categories including apparel, home decor, kitchen gadgets, beauty, toys, and tech.
Early access begins Monday, Oct. 5 for members of the Target Circle 360 paid loyalty membership tier. Target Circle card holders, teachers, college students, military members and government assistance recipients can receive more than 50% off a Target Circle 360 membership, which includes free, fast shipping, same-day delivery, monthly free giveaways and early access to select sales and collaborations.
Customers can shop Target Circle Deal Days in stores, on Target.com or in the Target app. See more details on specific discounts and deals here.
"Customers are looking for ways to save as they swap summer wardrobes for cozy layers, refresh their homes for fall and start checking gifts off their holiday shopping lists," said Sarah Travis, executive VP and chief digital and revenue officer, Target. "Helping guests celebrate the season with great style, thoughtful design and incredible value is what we do best. Target Circle Deal Days is our way of saying thank you to members while helping them save even more on the styles and brands they love."
Consumer electronics giant Best Buy also just announced its holiday promotional plans, which include digital features, in-store experiences, dedicated product assortments and special loyalty savings to holiday shoppers.
[READ MORE: Best Buy holiday plans include ChatGPT shopping, experiential in-store shops]
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Target operates more than 2,000 U.S. stores in addition to its e-commerce business. The retailer is continuing to expand its store network, and plans to open eight stores this fall across six states.
