UPDATE: Just hours after Walmart pointedly announced it would offer its own mega-sale in response to Amazon’s Prime-member only deal day happening on Wednesday, the online retailer released its own barbed statement, reminding consumers they could avoid missing all the deals by simply signing up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.

Greg Greenley, vice president of Amazon Prime, said in the statement that the company never intended to exclude customers from Prime Day. He also managed to get a dig in at retailers – without naming names – who do business both online and in physical stores:

“We’ve heard some retailers are charging higher prices for items in their physical stores than they do for the same items online,” he said. “The idea of charging your in-store customers more than your online customers doesn’t add up for us, but it’s a good reminder that you’re usually better off shopping online.”

While the 30-day free trial Greenley refers to may be a good workaround for some consumers, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that individuals who previously signed up for the trial are still out of luck this time around.

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If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, then you might feel a bit left out when it comes to the online retailer’s upcoming deal-filed Prime Day, which is being touted as having more bargains than Black Friday. But, not one to pass up an opportunity to compete with the e-commerce giant, Walmart announced today that it, too, is hosting a massive online sale on Wednesday. You know, for all those consumers who don’t shell out $99/year to be a part of Amazon’s Prime service.

USA Today reports (warning: link has video that autoplays) that Walmart will launch a rival Prime Day sale Wednesday, rolling back the prices on more than 2,000 online exclusive products. The sale is set to last about 90 days, the typical time frame for Walmart’s Rollbacks (its word for discounts).

In addition to the Rollbacks in categories such as electronics, home, baby and toys, the company plans to – for at least 30 days – reduce the minimum for free shipping to $35 from the current benchmark of $50.

The retailer also plans to add “special atomic deals” throughout the sale.

Walmart announced its new sale with a rather snarky and pointed blog post on Monday morning. The front page of the company’s blog is plastered with a sign that reads: “Low Prices, No Admission Fee: You shouldn’t have to pay $100 to get great deals.”

If the post’s title wasn’t a stab at Amazon’s Prime-member only sale, then the crux of the announcement certainly is:

“If you’ve shopped Walmart.com, you’ll know that every day is a special day where everyone has access to the same low prices we offer. We mean everyone: you, your neighbor, your boss, your best friend … all of whom are looking for the best price on the things they want and need. We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale. But the idea of asking customers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn’t add up for us.”

We’re standing up for our customers and everyone else who sees no rhyme or reason for paying a premium to save.

Prior to announcing the sale on its blog, a Walmart spokesperson told USA Today that the company just couldn’t stand by and watch while so many consumers were excluded from Amazon’s sale.

“We just don’t believe you should pay a fee to get a better price,” the spokesperson said.

Walmart’s rival Rollback sale isn’t the first time the company has gone head-to-head with its online-retail adversary.

Earlier this year, the big box store announced it would begin testing an Amazon Prime competitor called ShippingPass. The service would come at a cost of $50/year and offers users no minimum orders for free three-day shipping.

Walmart launches rival sale to Amazon’s Prime Day [USA Today]
Why Every Day is Low Price Day at Walmart [Walmart]

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