Wal-Mart Gives a New Window into Competitors' Prices
Wal-Mart is now offering an online resource that allows consumers to compare its prices on 80,000 food and household products to those of its competitors. The retailer rolled out the feature "Savings Catcher" on its website late last month in seven large markets that include Dallas, San Diego and Atlanta, according to USA Today.
Is this new tool attempting to shake up the world of pricing?
The prices are matched to competitive stores based on geographic location. This does not include online retailers. In Atlanta, Georgia for instance, Wal-Mart compares prices to approximately 20 rivals, including Aldi, CVS, Food Lion, Target and Dollar General. Store label brands or those purchases made online are not included. The tool includes groceries but doesn't apply to general merchandise like clothing or electronic gadgets. Click here to check out the Wal-Mart Savings Catcher
Americans are already increasingly searching for the lowest prices on their mobile devices while at checkout and this resource may make it quite a bit easier. Price wars have motivated retailers like Target and Best Buy to start offering to match the lower prices of rivals. For Wal-Mart, this online feature is doing the legwork for customers.
Duncan MacNaughton, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer for the retailer’s U.S. discount division, told The Associated Press that shoppers are looking for "technological answers to saving them money and time."
Wal-Mart is hoping the online tool will build more confidence among Wal-Mart shoppers, the article notes. Wal-Mart's U.S. discount division recorded a fourth consecutive quarter of declines in revenue at stores opened at least a year, and has seen a decline in the number of shoppers heading to their local Wal-Mart stores.
Wal-Mart has had a price matching strategy in place for several years now but the idea for Savings Catcher was born last year through a focus group. By last summer, the company was testing it in four markets by an invitation-only.
Shoppers can tap into the tool by setting up an account on Wal-Mart.com, then logging onto the Savings Catcher page and typing in the number on their receipt. The number needs to be registered within seven days of purchase. Savings Catcher compares prices of every item on the receipt to a database of advertised prices of competitors, provided by an undisclosed third party that analyzes retail ads. The savings are issued on a Wal-Mart online gift card and the customers can accumulate savings or use the credit immediately.
MacNaughton noted that preliminary data revealed that in the markets that have the Savings Catcher, shoppers are stocking more items in their basket and the checkout lines are faster.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as the retail supermarket industry continues to heat up.
