And here we go again… the online shopping world is buzzing yet again because Wal-Mart just announced today that they are taking on Amazon and Prime Day in a big way. It looks like the midsummer version of Black Friday has a new player and a new battle for customers and the customer’s spending money. One thing is certain – when online retailers battle for customer attention – the customer always wins! Amazon vs. Wal-Mart should bring huge savings for all of us.

Starting the Amazon vs. Wal-Mart news today, Wal-Mart has moved forward and lowered the threshold for free standard shipping with online purchases from $50 to $35. This matches the Free Shipping threshold currently offered to all customers by Amazon. Wal-Mart has said the $35 minimum order policy will remain in effect for at least 30 days.

The Amazon vs. Wal-Mart also took on a much more competitive tone when the Wal-Mart blog featured the statement below that is an obvious jab at Amazon and their $99 per year Prime membership fee. They were quick to point out that unlike Amazon where Prime Day was available to only Prime members, Wal-Mart would offer the deals to everyone.

“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.”

The blog goes on to add a bit more fuel to the Amazon vs. Wal-Mart fire:

“We’re kicking off some awesome deals this week that will be available for everybody with no hidden costs or admission fees, and they won’t be available for just one day. Our customers will see thousands of great deals on Rollback beginning this week along with some special atomic deals (more on that in the days to come). In addition, we’re rolling back our free shipping minimum order to $35 from $50, making it even easier for customers to save on shipping all summer long.”

I think that’s quite the response to Amazon and Prime Day. If you missed the Prime Day announcement and wonder what all of the fuss is about, you can get caught up with our blog post that explains Prime Day. Amazon announced that they are going to be having Prime Day – a one-day shopping event on July 15, 2015, with more deals than Black Friday. Prime members can shop exclusive deals from electronics, toys, video games, movies, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items and more. It is important to note that Prime Day is for Amazon Prime members only. Because of this, it is a great time to try Amazon Prime with their 30-day free trial.

With all of this news, there should be PLENTY of great deals on Prime Day now – competition between retailers means great deals for all of us. Who will have the best deals? Will there be any previews? We will share everything we hear with you! Watch our blog tomorrow, especially tomorrow night, and we’ll share everything we know. Just like on Black Friday, we’ll keep you in the loop with all of the best deals as they break. I have a feeling we’ll see some great deals to kick off the Back-to-School shopping season, and just like on Black Friday we’ll even see deals to kick off our holiday shopping! Get ready to shop – July 15^th is coming fast!