Amazon and Walmart both want you to subscribe this week. They're doing it in opp
By Liranhirschkorn · June 25, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Amazon and Walmart both want you to subscribe this week. They're doing it in opposite ways.
Amazon is offering a free 30-day Prime trial. Walmart cut Walmart+ in half, $98 down to $49.
Here's what's easy to miss: Amazon's free trial runs all year. Walmart's 50% off is the event play. The market leader doesn't put its membership on sale. The challenger does.
Walmart has a reason to. Walmart+ member spends about 4x what a non-member does and visits Walmart online about 7x more often. At that gap, signing someone up at half price during the highest-traffic week of the year pays for itself. And the crossed-out $98 does the rest: a clear before-and-after price converts better than a discount with no anchor.
The deal was never the point. The product is the membership.
Both events run on demand that already exists. More than half of Prime Day shoppers say they waited to buy during the event. The deal is the permission. The membership is the business, and it keeps billing long after the week ends.
The deal expires, but the membership doesn't.