Today was the first time I had price matched at Wal-mart. I generally go to one or two grocery stores each week when I shop. I check out the adds and decide which is the best value for my time. This week, however, there were great deals to be had a 4 or 5 different stores. I was NOT going to drag my 38 week pregnant body and 2 year old son all around town!
I had a pretty good experience price matching and I will let you know what I did that made everything go smoothly and what things were problematic.
I made a list of the items I wanted or needed to purchase, then I scanned my ads to find the lowest price advertised. Next to the the item I wrote the advertised price and the store it was at. My list looked something like this:
Highland butter- 16 oz $1.59- SF (Sunfest)
Watermelon 2.99 Jubilee
Peaches/Nectarines .69/lb Jubilee
grapes .99/lb Apple Market
Cheerios, Reeses, Trix, LC- 5/$10 (10-14oz) CM (Country Mart)
Best Choice yogurt- 6oz 30 cents SF
When I got to Walmart I went to customer service to ask a few questions. I asked about store brands. Most of my grocery stores carry Best Choice and Walmart offers Great Value. These are interchangeable! I also asked about store loyalty cards. My Walmart will match those advertised deals, but not if they have to be paired with a store coupon. (Country Mart does this often.) The woman also said that meat is not always price matched because the size of packaging is different. I found the same to be true for produce like blueberries. One store was selling 2lbs for $5 and Walmart had their berries in 11oz containers. This made the berries about $3/lb and Walmart would not match this, but they did match the rest of the produce. Things that are sold per item (like 4/$1 kiwi) or per pound (like grapes .99/lb) they will match.
When I got to the check out I separated my purchase to make it easier for the cashier and me! I put all of the non-price matched items on the conveyor belt first then all the items I wanted to match. I let her know at the beginning of my transaction that I was going to price match. Some stores or cashiers may ask to see the ads, I did have those handy, but today she just asked for the price and store. Since I had this on my list it was very easy to let her know.
Overall I think price matching went well. It does take a little longer and some forethought, but less time than visiting 3 stores! Also, if I were going to use coupons Walmart does not double them like the grocery stores. I will probably try it again!
This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom
Interesting. I think I will need to talk to you in person about this. Sounds a little confusing for me, but I think I want to try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteSweetness, didn't know Wal-mart matched - doubt our does in VA :-P.
ReplyDeleteWow, good for you! But I must say it sounds exhausting for me LoL:)
ReplyDeleteThis is how I shop!! I ALWAYS price match. Rarely have they asked for the ad, but I always take them with me just in case. I usually put my price matches at the front of the conveyor belt just to get them out of the way. If you stick with the same size packaging, then you're usually good to go--10 lbs of potatoes is 10 lbs of potatoes at either store, for example, no matter what the brand. They will also match the Always Save with the Great Value. EXCEPT sugar--Great Value is packaged in 5 lb bags, and Always Save is 4 lbs. I have developed a list of things that are only carried at Country Mart and/or that WalMart won't match, and I hit CM first for those things, then WM for all the rest. Like spices are always cheaper at CM, because they have the 99c containers, and WM does not. I've heard they'll even match deli items, like where you go to the counter and ask them to slice so many pounds of salami or whatever--but I have never tried that. I think all WalMart's do it everywhere--every place I have ever lived they have...they just don't advertise about it. Today the cashier matched the bananas at 33c/lb without my even asking--I hadn't looked at the flyers yet and didn't know about it. It's not confusing, Sarah, once you try it!
ReplyDeleteThat is good to know Ann! What Walmart do you shop at? I don't know if I will PM everytime, but it is nice to just hit one store. I even got a belt for Andy. That doesn't happen at CM.
ReplyDeleteIt really isn't complicated Sarah, but the coupon thing could be a factor on occasion...
Olivia, I actually spent less time prepping for this trip. It just took a few minutes to plan and a few extra minutes in the checkout. Less time than multiple stores. Even when I go to stores that are right by each other.
I believe that Walmart's corporate policy is to price match, but what they match might vary from store to store. Target also price matches. This is a new policy! You have to go to customer service and get a refund for the PM items, so I think it would be a bit too complicated. We don't have a Super Target, so I don't get groceries there.
Great job! I have price matched in the past and found it usually worked very well!
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