Ready or not, the 2021 holiday shopping season kicked off Monday with a surprise announcement from Amazon that daily “Black Friday-worthy” deals are already available.
The bid to hook early-bird deal hunters includes “deep discounts across every category,” including fashion, electronics, home goods and toys with new deals added to the site daily, CNBC reported.
Meanwhile, Target announced last week that it will give shoppers a jump on the season, bringing back its popular in-store “Deal Days” on Oct. 10-12, USA Today reported.
Despite predicted steep year-over-year holiday spending increases for 2021, retailers are grappling with everything from supply chain woes and stark labor shortages to inflationary pressures, CNBC reported.
Those challenges translate to potential shipping delays, necessitating the jump-start for consumers, the network reported.
According to USA Today, Amazon also confirmed Monday that on select days throughout October and November brands such as Apple, KitchenAid, Hasbro, Sony, Bose and Shark will “offer limited-time offers with deeper deals on their selection of most-loved products to give Amazon customers even more ways to save.”
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members can now access a new feature, allowing them to send gifts to friends and family without an address. Users, instead, enter a person’s phone number or email address, and recipients are notified when they receive a gift, at which point a delivery address is requested. In addition, gift recipients may also opt to exchange an item for a gift card, CNBC reported.
“We’re excited to help customers get great holiday deals even earlier this year,” Dave Clark, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon, said in a prepared statement. “Customers can confidently shop early knowing they are receiving incredible deals starting today, letting them get a head start on their holiday to-do lists so they can truly enjoy the holiday season.”
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