Amazon's made-up holiday is forcing other retailers to offer crazy sales

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Target is launching its own sale timed to Prime Day.

• Amazon Prime Day is putting pressure on major retailers such as Target, Macy's, Walmart and JCPenney to offer massive Black Friday-style sales in July.
• Some of these retailers are offering as much as 30% off certain products and departments.
• Others, such as Home Depot, Staples, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond, have said they will price-match Amazon Prime Day deals.

Amazon Prime Day is forcing major retailers like Target, Macy's, and JCPenney to offer massive Black Friday-style sales in order to keep up.

Target, for example, is kicking off a sale on Tuesday - while Prime Day, which begins Monday, is still ongoing - offering discounts of 30% off Target-exclusive home brands, select baby gear, and Google products, as well as 25% off beauty and personal-care items.

JCPenney, meanwhile, held its biggest two-day sale this week, ahead of Prime Day, and will hold another three-day promotion, called "Cyber-in-July," starting on Monday.

Macy's is holding a "Black Friday in July" promotion this week, offering 25% off most of the site, and Lowe's is offering 10% off sitewide on Monday and Tuesday for new and existing MyLowe's Customers. Lowe's is also giving out free Google Home Mini devices to shoppers who spend more than $150 on Lowes.com.

According to Money magazine, Walmart is currently beating its Black Friday deals by offering bigger discounts on certain TVs.

In addition to running their own promotions, many retailers will price-match Amazon's Prime Day deals. These retailers include Home Depot, Staples, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Prime Day, in its fourth year, is still a long way from catching up to Black Friday in terms of total sales, however. Cowen & Co. estimates that Prime Day generated about $1 billion for Amazon last year, while e-commerce sales totaled $5.03 billion on Black Friday, according to Adobe.