Walmart and Amazon Race to Address Consumer Price Anxiety

Retail giants Walmart and Amazon are reacting to consumers’ anxieties about holiday spending by rolling out more deals earlier.

Walmart announced Thursday (Oct. 17) the launch of its Thanksgiving meal deal for less than $7 a person for eight people. It includes turkey, sides and dessert, and comes amid increased demand for early savings due to consumers’ food price anxieties. These concerns persist as the cost of many essential items remains elevated despite overall slowing inflation.

“As food prices remain top of mind, more customers want to begin saving earlier and throughout the holiday season,” Walmart said in a statement. “Starting Oct. 14 through Dec. 25, Walmart is bringing back its inflation-free Thanksgiving meal at a lower price than last year to help customers save without compromising quality.”

Meanwhile, Amazon turned its deals focus to the December holidays. The eCommerce giant announced Monday (Oct. 14) the return of its early holiday beauty deals event, the Amazon Holiday Beauty Haul, which will run for two weeks from Oct. 21 to Nov. 3 and provide “thousands” of discounts. These include skincare, cosmetics, hair care, fragrance and nail products from a range of name brands such as bareMinerals, Clinique, Kiehl’s, Lancôme, Maybelline, Revlon and others.

In the face of financial challenges, consumers like to get ahead of their holiday spending. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Consumers Cautiously Spend More Amid Lower Inflation” explored how financial pressures influenced gift shopping last holiday season. It found that of the 77% of consumers who bought gifts during the 2023 holidays, 56% had already planned most or all of their purchases before shopping.

Overall, many shoppers are facing financial difficulties. Consumers’ difficulties paying bills are at a roughly three-year high, according to the “How Consumers Experience Financial Lifestyle Mobility” installment of the PYMNTS Intelligence series “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report.” In August, one-quarter of consumers living paycheck to paycheck faced difficulties paying their bills, reaching the highest level since September 2021. Plus, 27% of consumers reported downward financial mobility the last two years. Fifty-two percent of these individuals cited the rising cost of living expenses as a key reason.

Walmart and Amazon’s announcements mark the latest moves in their ongoing push to position themselves as the solution to early planners’ holiday spending anxieties. Earlier this month, Walmart kicked off its earliest-yet Walmart Holiday Deals event, citing findings that half of consumers would start their holiday shopping as early as August and September.

Plus, Amazon held its holiday-focused two-day Prime Big Deal Days sales event. The latter proved to be Amazon’s largest yet October shopping event.

“Our 2024 Prime Big Deal Days event marked a strong start to the holiday shopping season, with record-breaking sales and participation from Prime members worldwide,” Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington said in a statement. “This is just the start of great deals from Amazon over the holiday shopping season.”

The race between Walmart and Amazon reflects the growing importance of early holiday deals amid economic uncertainty. As consumers grapple with elevated living costs, both retailers are vying to secure customer loyalty by offering discounts well ahead of the traditional shopping season. With financial pressures driving early planning, these moves highlight the evolving holiday retail landscape, where timing and savings are increasingly critical to capture shoppers’ attention.