Target takes aim at Prime Day with July sales event

Once again, Target is getting a one-day jump on the official start of Amazon Prime Day.

Target is holding its annual “Target Deal Days” digital sales extravaganza Monday, July 11 – Wednesday, July 13. As it did in 2021, the discount giant is hosting Target Deal Days one day earlier (and longer) than Amazon Prime Day, which takes place this year July 12-13.

Unlike Prime Day, Target does not require membership in any type of paid loyalty program to participate (although consumers can register for a free 30-day trial Prime membership to shop Prime Day deals). The event will offer discounts on hundreds of thousands of items, exclusively on the Target e-commerce site and app, across owned and national brands in every category at Target.

All Target Deal Days purchases will be eligible for in-store and curbside pickup, as well as same-day delivery. During the event, there will be a 5% discount on Target gift cards purchased on the retailer’s website.

Featured deals include:

• Spend $50 on food and beverage, get $10 Target gift card with same-day services.
• Save up to $70 on Apple products.
• Up to 50% off select top tech and headphones.
• 25% off beauty.
• Up to 30% off home items.
• 50% off select apparel and accessories for the family.
• Up to 50% off hundreds of toys.
• Up to 40% off kitchen appliances.
• Up to 35% off floor care products.

The retailer is starting Deal Days early, with new “Target Deal of the Day” discounts added daily until the official start of the event.

Target also ran a fall edition of its Deal Days event in October 2021, which essentially served as an early Black Friday holiday promotion. Like Amazon, Target does not separately release performance results from its sales extravaganza events. However, the discounter did reveal that sales grew by more than 2.5 times during its 2020 Deal Days event (held in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic) compared to 2019 Deal Days, with customers saving millions of dollars on purchases.

Consumers may be less primed to spend
Traditionally, numerous retailers schedule digital sales events around Prime Day, generating billions of extra dollars in overall revenue. However, new data from RetailMeNot suggests that the average Prime Day shopper plans to spend $388 on Prime Day 2022, a 35% decline from the average planned Prime Day spend of $594 recorded by RetailMeNot in 2021.

Of that planned $388 spend, respondents plan to spend $233 – roughly 60% – at Amazon and $155 at other retailers offering their own promotions during Prime Day. RetailMeNot estimates that in 2021, as many as 313 other retailers promoted sales around Prime Day.

“We know customers look forward to Target Deal Days every year. With this year’s event being our biggest ever, guests can shop more incredible deals and items, with three full days to save on must-have products that will bring them joy all summer and beyond,” said Christina Hennington, executive VP and chief growth officer, Target. “From offering the most sought-after brands in retail and unparalleled savings to multiple, convenient fulfillment options within our nearly 2,000 stores, guests can shop Target with ease and confidence, knowing they are getting an incredible value.” 

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. operates nearly 2,000 stores across the U.S., as well as an e-commerce site and mobile app.