The highly anticipated Black Friday season has arrived four months ahead of schedule. Embracing this trend, Macy’s (ticker: M) has recently unveiled its own summer savings event, creatively named Black Friday in July. Joining a fierce competition to allure shoppers who may have tighter budgets, Macy’s is well aware that remarkable deals are poised to be up for grabs.
Running from Thursday through July 12, Macy’s sales event overlaps with summer promotions announced by several other prominent retailers. Among them are Amazon.com’s (AMZN) Prime Day, Target’s (TGT) Circle Week, Best Buy’s (BBY) Black Friday in July, and Walmart’s (WMT) new Walmart+ Week.
In the past decade, summer sales have become an established strategy for retailers to counteract the midyear spending slump. Despite the fact that these substantial discounts often put pressure on their profit margins, they have proven to be indispensable in staying competitive and relevant among consumers who have grown accustomed to discounted offerings, according to a report from Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group. Adobe Analytics predicts that Amazon’s two-day Prime event alone will drive online spending to reach $13.1 billion, marking a 9.5% increase from last year.
The significance of this year’s discounts is heightened as Americans are cutting back on discretionary purchases, particularly high-value items that may require financing. The average shopper during Prime Day plans to spend $250 on summer sales events this year, which signifies a decrease from $388 in 2022 and $594 in 2021, as reported by a survey conducted by RetailMeNot among 1,000 adults.
Rest assured, there will be an abundance of irresistible bargains available to entice even the most cautious of consumers.
Summer Sales: Retailers Compete for Shoppers’ Attention
August is here, and so are the summer sales. Retail giants like Amazon, Macy’s, Target, and Best Buy are offering attractive discounts to entice shoppers. Amazon, known for its annual Prime Day event, promises unprecedented deals this year. Macy’s is offering discounts ranging from 20% to 75% on a wide range of categories including furniture, sheets, handbags, and shoes. Target’s Circle Week provides users with savings of up to 50% on both Target-owned and national brands. Best Buy tempts customers with savings of up to $880 on select laptops, in addition to its ongoing Fourth of July sale which offers up to 40% off on appliances.
But summer sales are not a recent phenomenon. Even before these promotions, discounts were already common. A recent report by Simeon Siegel, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, reveals that the total number of items on sale in the second quarter increased by 21% compared to the same period last year.
And the discounts keep coming. Many retailers are planning to host sales events throughout the summer. Walmart and Target have already launched their back-to-school savings campaigns that will continue throughout the season. Walmart is catching customers’ attention by offering its back-to-school assortment at the same prices as last year. Meanwhile, Target has a special offer for teachers and college students—a one-time 20% discount on their entire shopping trip—accompanied by selected weekends with no sales tax in specific stores.
With so many retailers competing for shoppers’ attention, it is too early to predict the ultimate winner of this sales skirmish. However, it is evident that consumers are the ones reaping the benefits.