Amazon To Kick Off Holiday Shopping With October Prime Day

Even before Amazon’s announcement Monday, major retailers have said they plan to push shoppers to start their holiday shopping in October and offer deals earlier, hoping to avoid crowds in their stores in November and December.

Prime Day, which will run from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14 this year, is sure to put pressure on rivals to offer deals around the same time. In past years, Walmart, Best Buy and Target have offered their own online discounts during Prime Day.

Amazon started the sales event in 2015 as its answer to Singles Day, a shopping holiday in China popularized by Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba. Prime Day has become one of Amazon’s biggest shopping days, since it offers some of its deepest discounts of the year.

Amazon also sees it as a way to get more people to sign up for its Prime membership, since only those paying $12.99 a month or $119 a year can access the deals.