Amazon "battles" Walmart, as the U.S. retail industry also engages in a price war!

The domestic "takeout war" is in full swing, and foreign e-commerce giants are also launching price wars!

This week, e-commerce giant Amazon will face off against the world's largest retailer, Walmart. On July 8, both companies will kick off their largest annual online promotional events simultaneously, extending the battlefield from the digital realm to physical stores.

To compete for the U.S. consumer market, Amazon has proactively adjusted the date of its flagship promotion "Prime Day" to precisely align with Walmart's promotional window from last year, and for the first time, it has extended the event by four days. Walmart, in response, has upgraded its promotional period to six days, breaking through by integrating resources across all channels.

Amazon will start Prime Day on July 8 and extend it until July 11. Walmart immediately announced the launch of "Walmart Deals" on July 8 and extended the event period to July 13, adding two days compared to last year. A Walmart vice president revealed that this move will allow 4,600 U.S. physical stores to participate in the promotion simultaneously for the first time.

"These two retail giants are fiercely competing for the loyalty of American consumers," said Emarketer analyst Sky Canaves. "Amazon has set its promotional date earlier this year, and other retailers are following suit, even trying to start their promotions earlier."

Amazon's Dominance Faces Challenges

According to Emarketer data, Amazon has long been the largest e-commerce operator in the U.S., holding over 40% of the online sales share. However, the company is facing increasing digital competition pressure from Walmart.

As the largest physical retailer in the U.S., Walmart has invested heavily in online infrastructure. Walmart's e-commerce sales are growing at over 20% annually, with the company's U.S. e-commerce division reaching $79 billion in sales last year.

Walmart has taken proactive measures to enhance online order delivery speed, expanding its online inventory to over 500 million items and positioning itself as a high-tech e-commerce platform.

The Influence of Promotional Activities Continues to Expand

Amazon launched the Prime Day event in July 2015, offering exclusive discounts on electronics and back-to-school items for its Prime paid members. Other retailers soon followed suit, and retail traffic after the July 4 public holiday has begun to surpass traditional Black Friday sales in November.

According to Bank of America, this year's four-day Prime Day is expected to generate a total merchandise transaction volume of $23 billion, including total revenue from Amazon itself and third-party sellers on its platform.

Bank of America analyst Justin Post stated, "Although competition from other retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy has intensified during Prime Day, we believe this event will still be a positive driving force."

The changing competitive landscape is also affecting the strategies of third-party sellers. Jared Mason, e-commerce vice president of Pattern, Amazon's largest third-party seller, stated that the company is placing more emphasis and attention on the Walmart platform. He said:

We are pleased that Amazon is no longer so dominant. The fact that these smaller platforms are closing in has definitely changed Amazon's behavior, and we benefit from it