Amazon rivals offer deals during online giant’s Prime Day

NEW YORK – Amazon’s competitors are offering their own deals during the online giant’s Prime Day promotion.

As they’ve done before, many retailers including Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s are offering incentives like free shipping and discounts. One notable exception: Walmart isn’t offering special competing deals, but is highlighting two-day shipping and extra discounts for store pickups.

Amazon says its Echo smart speakers have been popular items during Prime Day, which began at 9 p.m. Eastern Monday. That could help Amazon down the road as it tries to persuade customers to shop using Echo’s Alexa voice assistant. Some deals this year were available only through Alexa.