Target's October sale is running on the exact same two days as Amazon's October Prime Day, and the early discounts are already live.
Target Circle Deal Days officially runs October 6-7, matching Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days dates. Target Circle membership is free, and it's required to unlock the sale prices. Early deals already up include the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) for $349.99, down $50; Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones for $299.99, down $100; and a 14-inch HP touchscreen notebook bundled with a wireless mouse and a year of Microsoft 365 for $299.99, down $300 and the lowest price tracked for that laptop.
Target launched its Circle sale back in 2019 to counter Amazon's summer Prime Day. Lining up with Amazon's fall event too shows the discount calendar consolidating around Amazon's schedule rather than retailers carving out separate windows. For shoppers, that means the best price of the season can show up in an early drop days before the marquee event even starts, as it did with that HP laptop.
Worth a gut check before buying: Best Buy sells the same laptop's base configuration, without the mouse and software bundle, for $219.99 - a reminder that "lowest price ever" claims still deserve a quick cross-shop.