Amazon, Target Leverage Deal Days to Drive Grocery Sales

As food at home prices continue to soar, grocery shoppers are looking for deals and discounts more than ever. Noting this demand, major retailers are incorporating food and beverage offers into their usual deal day promotions.

Amazon, for one, shared Thursday (June 16), along with the announcement of its Prime Day offers for July 12 and 13, that Prime members will get 20% off “select everyday essentials” from U.S. Amazon Fresh stores year-round starting Wednesday (June 29). Additionally, throughout July, Whole Foods Market shoppers are included in an Amazon-wide offer of 6% back for Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card holders and 5% year-round.

Read more: Amazon Prime Day Will Face Aggressive Rivals, Inflation-Weary Consumers

“With the small businesses and national brands our members love and trust, we’re excited to offer some of our best Prime Day deals yet to even more customers around the world,” said Amazon Prime Vice President Jamil Ghani in a statement. “This year, we’re making it simple for members to find the best deals, from personalized deal recommendations to Alexa reminders. It’s never been easier for Prime members to shop, save and make the most of Prime Day.”

Meanwhile, Target is gearing up for its deal days, Target Deal Days, around the same period (July 11-13). The retailer also announced its offers for the event Thursday, noting that shoppers receive a $10 Target GiftCard for $50 food and beverage purchases. The event has specifically positioned itself in opposition to its competitors’ comparable days, Amazon’s Prime Day and Walmart’s Walmart+ weekend, with the announcement repeating multiple times that there is “no membership fee required” to access the offers.

“We know guests look forward to Target Deal Days every year,” said Target Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington in a statement. “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.”

Walmart, for its part, did not advertise any food deals for its Walmart+ Weekend in its announcement of the event, focusing instead on retail categories.

Retailers’ grocery offers can go a long way, especially as price increases in the category outpace overall food inflation and inflation for all items. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) June 10, found that food at home (i.e., grocery) prices grew 11.9% year over year in May, while overall food prices increased 10.1%, and prices for all items rose 8.6%.

PYMNTS research from Amazon and Walmart’s 2021 deal days found that 104 million consumers participated in Amazon Prime Days last year, more than twice Walmart’s 50 million Deal Days participants, and Amazon brought in an estimated $15.4 billion compared to Walmart’s $5.5 billion. However, the same survey found that 45% of Walmart Deal Days participants purchased grocery items, compared to only 7% of Amazon Prime Day participants.

See more: Can Walmart+ Save Walmart From Amazon?