Since starting this blog I have been contacted by readers many times with questions about couponing, Frugal Living, Walmart’s policies and procedures, and various other little things. I figure if one person is wondering about it, there might be others so this will be an on-going feature to answer the most common questions that come up. If you have a question, please check out the master list of Ask A Walmart Expert articles to see if your answer is there already or contact me and I’ll do what I can to help you out.
Will Walmart Price Match Store Brand Items?
Short Answer? No.
This is one of those enduring myths of price matching perpetuated by well-meaning bloggers who don’t understand Walmart’s price match policies.
Here’s how it is generally presented. If Kroger (or any other store) has their store brand of 14oz corn on sale, then you can match that at Walmart and get Walmart’s store brand of 14oz corn for the same price.
This is just simply not the case. Here is the policy.
We do not match the price in the following types of competitor ads:
Competitors’ private label price promotions
That’s about as clear as it gets.
At this point, the pushback I get from readers is the claim that their Walmart will do it. All I can say to you is that if your store price matches store brands, enjoy it.
Every store manager has the ability to override the couponing or price matching policies at their discretion so it’s not inconceivable that there is someone out there doing this. If you are unsure about your particular store’s policy just ask but don’t get too disappointed if they say no, they are actually following policy.
Crystal VanHorn
My Wal-Mart used to do this. A few months back they decided to no longer do this, saying that their store brand quality was different from other stores quality of their products. I did really enjoy it while it lasted because that really helped make the difference in my budget. However they are right their store brand quality is better quality then some other store brands.
Jack Barnes
Simply put Wal-Mart tries every way to not add match Washington cherries 169 a pound they told me it was per one pound package and would not add match .
Holly
In my experience it more often depends on the cashier more than the anything else. Some of them are stubborn or lazt and don’t want to price match anything. Some of them will price match anything, even if you have not proof that it’s cheaper somewhere else. Some of them adhere to policy guidelines and ad match with proof.
Terri-Lynn Taylor
Wal-Mart did match store brand until recently. Over the last 3 months they have stopped completely although some cashiers don’t care enough to argue and do it anyway.
Dian
Terri,
The Walmart stores in our area haven’t gotten the memo, yet, so ours still do.
Aarn