Amazon discounts set the pace in the race for holiday shoppers

Rival retailers tend to follow Amazon whenever it launches online discounts. But landing on deals is increasingly a game of luck, as many appear unannounced.

Missing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals might matter less now as retailers pepper bargain hunters with discounts for months heading into the holidays. But planning ahead to take advantage of them is getting harder, and that’s largely thanks to Amazon.

NBC News’ Holiday Price Check is tracking the online prices of five gift items, each in a popular product category, to determine when the best deals hit. Already, it’s clear that Amazon is often setting the pace. Not only does the e-commerce giant most frequently offer the lowest price, but when it holds a sale on a specific item, other major retailers follow suit. What’s more, the flurry of discounts often occurs outside of heavily advertised sales events.

“It’s like a race, it’s a game,” shopping expert Trae Bodge said. Stumbling onto a sale for an item on your shopping list can offer “that satisfaction of a win,” she said. But it’s getting harder to know ahead of time where or when the next one’s coming.

On Nov. 1, Amazon was first to drop the price of Apple’s Airpods Pro 2 to $179.99 from its typical price of $199.99. The next day, Walmart and Best Buy each followed suit by the exact same amount. By Nov. 7, Amazon’s listing had inched up by $10, to 189.99, but Best Buy lowered its price further, to $169.99. The following day, Amazon matched it.

The Seattle-based company has consistently been the lowest-priced retailer for several years, pricing items at an average of 14% lower than its competitors, the e-commerce analytics firm Profitero found in a study released this month. That discounting lead is down two percentage points from last year, hinting that other big rivals are closing in a bit.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/amazon-discounts-online-holiday-shopping-rcna180056

---