The holiday shopping season is getting a jump start in October with major sales events from Walmart, Amazon, and Target. And while all three retail giants are promising steep discounts, only Walmart is saying “no membership required.”
“Walmart Deals are open to all customers—no membership required,” the company said in a press release, though Walmart+ members do get a five-hour head start on the sale on October 6 at 7pm ET.
Amazon, meanwhile, said its sales event is “member-exclusive,” and Target is requiring shoppers to sign up for its “free-to-join” Circle membership to access promotions.
Whatever the strategy behind Walmart’s messaging, the retailer is still driving shoppers to its membership program. On a recent earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon said income from membership fees was up 15% across the company in Q2, with Walmart+ seeing double-digit growth.
Target also noted in its latest earnings that membership revenue grew double digits in the latest quarter.
