Walmart Deals 2026 Opens a Day Before Amazon Prime Day

Walmart Deals 2026 opened a day ahead of Amazon Prime Day, with the retailer’s weeklong event running from June 22 through June 28 and Amazon’s four-day sale launching June 23. Walmart+ members got a 24-hour head start on the most popular ‘hot Deal drops’ from 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22, with the rest of the catalog unlocked for every shopper at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 23. Prime Day still owns the bigger exclusive-deal footprint across more than 35 categories, but Walmart’s matching markdowns on tech, kitchen, and patio mean shoppers no longer have to pick a side to land the season’s lowest prices.

Walmart’s Sale Opened a Day Before Prime Day

Walmart’s corporate announcement of its Deals event sets the timing in plain terms. The weeklong sale runs from June 22 through June 28, with online access at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22 and in-store access at 6 a.m. local time the same morning. Amazon’s Prime Day 2026 follows a day later, opening at 12:01 a.m. PDT on June 23 and running through June 23 through June 26, per the official Prime Day 2026 schedule.

Amazon’s own announcement of Prime Day 2026 names more than 35 categories, from clothing and beauty to kitchen, home, and electronics, with ‘limited-time offers’ and ‘Today’s Big Deals’ dropping three times a day on Amazon.com and the Amazon Shopping app. Walmart’s catalog is narrower in scope, leaning on electronics, fashion, toys, collectibles, furniture, and skincare. Both retailers pitch free shipping and fast delivery, with Amazon offering free same-day delivery on grocery orders over $25 for Prime members and Walmart offering Express Delivery in 30 minutes or less for Walmart+ subscribers. The overlap is where the comparison gets real: shoppers running the same wish list against both windows will see many of the same TVs, vacuums, and small appliances on sale at competing prices.

For Walmart, the launch date is the message. Getting the first move into a week when Amazon is treating the calendar as its own is a deliberate choice, and the corporate release leans into it with a section titled ‘Hot Deal Drops for Walmart+ Members.’ The campaign is even built around a fictional boy band called Alwayz and an original pop song titled ‘Catchin’ Feels.’

How the Walmart+ Early Access Window Works

Walmart’s press release spells out the timing in two parts. Hot Deal drops open first to eligible Walmart+ members at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22, and any items that remain in stock open to all customers at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 23.

Eligible members include paid annual and monthly Walmart+ subscribers. Trial-tier members, including the $1 trial, the free W+ Student, the free W+ Assist, and InHome or Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundles, are not eligible for the early-access benefit. The page outlining the early-access benefit describes it as a curated, online-only assortment of high-demand items in the first 24 hours, while supplies last. The point is small-batch scarcity: a few items in tight inventory, not the full catalog. In practice that means the most aggressively priced items in the catalog go first to paying Walmart+ members, with everything else open to the public a day later.

The Standout Deals Across Five Categories

Walmart’s headline is up to 85% off across thousands of items, with savings tilted toward outdoor, home, kitchen, and electronics. The Stanley Quencher H2.0 tumbler is $25, down from $40, undercutting the same model in the lead-up to Amazon Prime Day. A three-piece patio set is $60, and a Lefant robot vacuum is 70% off.

Both retailers have converged on the same summer wish list, and Walmart’s pricing is set against Amazon’s. Where the two diverge is on access and length: Walmart’s sale runs seven days, Amazon’s runs four.

The Lefant mark, a 70% cut on a robot vacuum that usually runs near $200, is one of the deepest single-item discounts in the sale. The Ninja Creami ice cream maker is $30 off, with seven frozen-treat modes and two pint containers included, a markdown Walmart itself calls rare. The Philips 50-inch class 4K Google Smart LED TV is $198, down from $278. For shoppers who want a frozen drink instead, the Ninja Slushi is $50 off, the same discount that ran during Walmart’s spring sale event.

The pattern across categories is the same: Walmart matches Amazon’s price floor and beats it on the access window. Shoppers running both calendars against the same wish list will see most of the same brands, often at the same prices, with the only variable being who gets to click ‘buy’ first. That variable is the Walmart+ early-access tier, not the catalog.

Big Tech: TVs, Laptops, and Earbuds Worth Grabbing

The Onn 65-inch 4K smart TV with built-in Roku is one of the headline big-screen deals, priced under $250. For shoppers willing to go a step down on size, the Philips 50-inch class 4K Google Smart LED TV is $198, down from $278, a price that has been running in the catalog since earlier in the spring.

The Athlon-powered Windows laptop at $179, with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, is the cheapest way into a full Windows setup during the sale. Walmart’s own description flags it as a ‘Chromebook price’ for buyers who can live with light tasks, Google Docs, email, and streaming. The Veatool wireless earbuds are $20, water-resistant and rated for up to 60 hours of playback between the buds and the case.

• Onn 65-inch 4K Roku smart TV: under $250
• Philips 50-inch class 4K Google Smart TV: $198 (was $278)
• Windows Athlon laptop with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage: $179
• Veatool wireless earbuds with 60-hour playback: $20
• Portable jump starter with USB outputs: over 55% off

These prices put Walmart within striking distance of Amazon’s own Prime Day tech slate, where 50-inch and 65-inch sets are listed at $228 and $218 across competing models. The Veatool earbuds are the cheapest earbud price point in the roundup and the only sub-$25 option in the category. For shoppers building a back-to-school setup, the Chromebook and Windows laptop pair cover both ends of the price ladder, with a portable jump starter at over 55% off rounding out the section. The remaining tech items, like the power strip with six outlets and two USB ports, fall into the same $20-to-$30 range.

The access window matters most for the items most likely to sell out. The 65-inch Onn is the kind of deal that disappears within hours on Amazon Prime Day, and Walmart’s same-tier pricing with a day-earlier start gives early shoppers the first crack at it. Shoppers prioritizing a single big-ticket TV should shop the W+ early access at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22; everyone else can wait until June 23.

The big picture on tech is that Walmart is competing on price, not exclusivity. None of the TVs, laptops, or earbuds in the roundup are Walmart-only models, and the sale just brings them to a price floor that lines up with Prime Day’s.

Home, Kitchen, and Patio: Where the Deepest Discounts Live

Home goods carry the most aggressive discounts in the roundup, with 60% off a UV-proof outdoor sun shade, 50% off a battery-powered mini chainsaw, and 50% off a high-density resin Adirondack chair in a forest green finish. Kitchen deals cluster around the Ninja line, with both the Creami and the Slushi at $30 and $50 off, plus a Drew Barrymore Beautiful 3.5-quart stand mixer at $65, down from $75. Patio sets span the price ladder, from the $60 three-piece to the under-$100 five-piece dining set with umbrella hole.

• Five-piece patio dining set: under $100, powder-coated steel frame, tempered glass top, umbrella hole
• Three-piece cushioned patio set: weather-resistant washable polyester covers, two chairs and a coffee table
• 12,000 BTU window air conditioner: $279, cools rooms up to 550 square feet
• Six-piece luggage set: silent spinner wheels, zippered dividers, multiple color options
• Sectional sofa with washable covers: $300 off

The Blackstone 17-inch portable griddle, built for tailgates, beach days, and backyard barbecues, has built-in wind guards and a Rear Grease Management system. The Drew Barrymore Beautiful slow cooker has five preset functions for meat, poultry, stew, soup, and chili, and it auto-shifts to warming mode when the meal is ready. A 4-pound chicken, a 5-pound roast, and enough sides to feed ten people fit inside the 6.5-quart pot of the HyperHeat 8-in-1 pressure cooker. Patio extras include a raised garden bed, a $14 Tal 2-in-1 straw and chug bottle, and a water hammock with floats and mesh armrests.

The home category is where Walmart’s seven-day window outpaces Amazon’s four. Amazon’s Prime Day runs deeper on Amazon-device bundles, books, and Audible, where Amazon’s own-brand discounts are part of the pitch. Walmart’s home, kitchen, and patio slate is built around third-party brands shoppers cross-shop everywhere, with the price floor set to match Prime Day. For a shopper replacing a $300 slow cooker, a $250 air conditioner, or a $200 griddle, the timing is now on both sides.

The $49 Membership and What Walmart Is Betting On

Walmart is also selling a year of Walmart+ for $49, half the usual $98 annual price, in a promotion that runs through the start of the Deals event. The last comparable offer ran ahead of Black Friday, making this one of the rare windows to lock in the membership at half off.

The membership itself runs $98 a year or $12.95 a month, still well below Amazon’s $139 annual Prime fee. The benefits list runs to free delivery, free shipping with no order minimum, 10 cents a gallon off at 13,000+ fuel locations, Paramount+ streaming, mobile scan and go, and the early-access benefit during Walmart’s marquee sales. The math for frequent Walmart shoppers is straightforward: 10 cents a gallon at 13,000+ fuel locations adds up fast on a single fill-up. The free shipping tier applies to every order with no minimum, which Walmart+ members can stack with the early-access benefit during marquee sales. The membership is positioned less as a streaming or delivery product and more as a recurring savings layer for households that already shop Walmart weekly.

That is the bet Walmart is making: trade margin on a $49 membership for the chance to convert deal-seeking shoppers into a year of recurring spend, free shipping, fuel discounts, and Paramount+ viewing. Amazon Prime, by contrast, sits at $139 a year or $14.99 a month, and is gated from the start of Prime Day, with no equivalent of a ‘first 24 hours’ tier for non-members. The two retailers are now competing on membership economics as much as on price tags. For a frequent Walmart shopper, $49 is a low-risk test drive of a year of free shipping and fuel discounts, with the early-access benefit as a one-week fast pass.

For a shopper planning to spend the week cross-shopping, the $49 Walmart+ plus free shipping has appeal as a one-week fast pass. For a shopper planning a longer Prime Day run, Amazon’s $139 Prime and its four days of ‘Today’s Big Deals’ drops remain the bigger exclusive footprint. The real-world answer is that most households will run both calendars and pick from whichever side beats the other on a given item.

How the Two Sales Stack Up

Amazon’s four-day window is shorter and the deal cadence is denser, with ‘Today’s Big Deals’ dropping at 12 a.m., 8 a.m., and 1 p.m. PDT on Amazon.com and the Amazon Shopping app, plus new deals dropping as often as every five minutes in select periods. Walmart’s seven-day window is longer and the pricing is more anchored, with categories like home, kitchen, and patio running continuous markdowns rather than timed drops. Both retailers offer free shipping, with Amazon’s threshold on non-Prime orders above $35 and Walmart’s on orders above $35 for non-Walmart+ members. The two sales are running on overlapping calendars with overlapping catalogs, and the shopper question is which side beats the other on a given item.

Prime Day is the biggest shopping event of the year exclusively for members, whether they’re looking for deals on the latest electronics, getting ahead on back-to-school shopping, or saving on fresh groceries and household essentials.

Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, made the case in Amazon’s Prime Day announcement that Prime Day is the company’s biggest event of the year. The 2026 pitch adds Alexa for Shopping deal alerts, a free-groceries sweepstakes, and exclusive early screenings for Prime members.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Walmart Deals 2026 start and end?

The event runs online from 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22 through 11:59 p.m. ET on June 28, with in-store access starting at 6 a.m. local time on June 22 and ending at regular closing time on June 28.

Do I need a Walmart+ membership to shop Walmart Deals?

No. Anyone can shop the sale from 12:01 a.m. ET on June 23 onward. A paid Walmart+ membership unlocks the first 24 hours of the curated ‘hot Deal drops’ starting at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 22, while supplies last.

How do Walmart Deals prices compare to Amazon Prime Day?

In categories like TVs, robot vacuums, and small kitchen appliances, the two retailers are running near-parity pricing on many of the same brands. Walmart’s Stanley Quencher H2.0 tumbler is at $25, undercutting the same model in the lead-up to Amazon Prime Day.

Can I shop Walmart Deals in stores?

Yes. In-store access to Walmart Deals starts at 6 a.m. local time on June 22 and runs through regular closing time on June 28, though availability of specific deal items varies by location.