Amazon Prime Day vs. Target Circle Week 2023: How do the deals and sales events compare?

Two of the biggest sales of the year are now in full swing. Both Amazon Prime Day 2023 and Target Circle Week 2023 sales are live, but how do the sales compare, what are their requirements, and which is actually better? Here’s what you need to know:

What is Amazon Prime Day? Amazon Prime Day is the online retail giant’s annual sale event. It first kicked off in 2015 in honor of Amazon’s 20th anniversary and has since become an annual summer shopping staple, typically taking place over two days. Think of it like a Black Friday but when it’s warm out. However, in order to take advantage of the sales, you need to be an Amazon Prime member.
What Is Target Circle Week? Target Circle Week is Target Corp’s answer to Amazon Prime Day. Amazon is, of course, Target’s fiercest online competitor, and the more people turn to Amazon for its Prime Day deals, the more potential customers Target has to lose—hence, the creation of Target Circle Week. But just as you need to be a Prime member to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day sales, you need to be a Target Circle member (the company’s loyalty and rewards program) to nab Target Circle Week deals.
How long do these events last? As Target Circle Week’s name suggests, it’s a weeklong event. It runs from Sunday, July 9, to Saturday, July 15, 2023. This is much longer than Amazon Prime Day—though that name is a bit misleading. Amazon Prime “Day” is actually a two-day sales event, which runs from Tuesday, July 11, to Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
What are the advantages of Amazon Prime Day? Amazon Prime Day sees literally millions of items on sale not just from Amazon itself but also from its third-party sellers. It’s by far the bigger sale. And though you need to be an Amazon Prime member to get the sale prices, you can sign up for a free Prime trial and still get all the Prime Day deals.
What are the advantages of Target Circle Week? It’s the longer of the two sales, so you don’t feel as under the gun to jump on a deal right now. Target Circle is also free to join, so there’s no monthly subscription cost, unlike with Amazon Prime. Finally, Target Circle Week takes place both online and in Target’s physical retail stores. So if there’s a sale item you think you might like, you can go to a Target store to check it out before deciding to purchase it.
How successful is Amazon Prime Day for Amazon? Amazon Prime Day is always one of Amazon’s biggest shopping events of the year—on par with Black Friday. Insider Intelligence says Amazon Prime Day 2023 is likely to see $12.9 billion in sales—an 11% increase year-over-year.
Is Target Circle Week a threat to Amazon? Probably not, considering that Amazon dominates the e-retail market. Target Circle Week, rather, is most likely a necessity for Target, so it can stay somewhat competitive with Amazon and show its most loyal customers that it appreciates them. As Cara Sylvester, the company’s executive vice president and chief guest experience officer, said in a press release, “Target Circle Week is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our guests.”