Wal-Mart lowers shipping requirements, cuts prices to compete with Amazon event

The online price fight is heating up between Wal-Mart and Amazon.com and it's not even the holidays.

Wal-Mart is lowering its free shipping minimum order to $35 from $50 until further notice and on Wednesday, it will be offering discounts on thousands of items.

That's in response to Amazon's highly promoted sale on the same day for its Prime members, who pay a $99 annual fee.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, has stepped up its game against the online sales leader. In May, it announced it will be testing an unlimited free-shipping service for an annual fee of $50.