Yesterday I started out the day talking to Target’s customer service department to receive clarification on their Target IP policy and I ended the day having a Walmart employee fix the price on a product that rang up wrong simply by me telling her that it was wrong! I can’t believe it, less than a year ago I made a list breaking down the pros and cons of each of the “Supers” and at that time there was only one area that Walmart came ahead. I’ve been tracking the two stores again recently and I think it’s time to run down the comparisons again, now that so many things have changed. You can compare the previous breakdown here and anything that has not changed I won’t mention below.

Last time we started with the price comparison.  Something new that has been implemented since I last did this, is Price Matching.  Both stores do this, but the way they handle it is vastly different.

Walmart: Bring in a sales flyer that has an item priced lower than Walmart has it and they will match it! This happens right there at the register, a quick price adjustment and they ring up all your items together. It’s just that simple.  King Soopers, Safeway, Albertsons (and presumably any other grocery store) as well as Kmart, Best Buy and Sears are among those I am aware of that they will accept. I’m also assuming any other store that carries a product that Walmart has. I haven’t personally checked other clothing stores nor have I checked drugstores.

Target: They recently put signs all over the store advertising the fact that they price match as well.  I was able to put that into practice today and discovered the following; First of all, when you go to price match they have you purchase the items at the register and then you walk over to the customer service desk and they refund the difference! Which means, among other things, you pay tax on the full price of the item but don’t get that extra tax refunded. Second, after buying my items and walking over to customer service I was informed that when it comes to grocery stores Target will not honor a price match from King Soopers or Safeway, why?  Because it says at the bottom “with card”. In my area Target will only honor a price match against Albertsons and that’s because they don’t have a loyalty card (although they do in most other states). I have yet to see what other flyers they will honor but I’m certainly not holding out much hope.

Walmart: Going above and beyond their price matching policy they actively search out the other stores products and match or often lower their prices preemptively. And when they have a store brand they price that even lower. Before I had said that dairy was similar to other grocery stores but now with this new price matching/beating policy, Walmart is actually beating the grocery stores in this area. When milk is $1.88 a gal limit 2 at one store, Walmart brings their milk to $1.58 a gal no limit. When Sargento cheese is lowered to $2.38 they lower the store cheese to $2.14. Basically from every corner of the grocery section, prices are lower and when they aren’t, you still have price matching.

Target: if you can get the price match to work, the prices are as low as any other store  (as long as they don’t have a loyalty program). Target has gift card promotions, as well as their own printable coupons that can be combined with manufacturer coupons. Of course if you try a $5 gift card when you buy 5 of a particular item promotion, you are no longer allowed to use 5 Target coupons along with your 5 manufacturer coupons, because their new policy is to only allow one like Target coupon per transaction…and to make matters worse the definition of “transaction” clarified all the way up at corporate means one trip! Still, if you are lucky enough to find a more flexible Target or there are no Target coupons for a particular item, the gift card program is something that Walmart does not possess.

Walmart: Along with their lower prices over all by matching other stores, they are, most of the time the only ones to carry Tortillas (nice ones ) for close to and sometimes under $1. Most other places are cheap at $1.50.

Target: Though I haven’t seen them this season, Target is the only store that I know of that has bulk produce in variations other than apples and oranges. I have seen peaches, nectarines, plums and pears.

When it comes to service, Walmart has risen up to the level that Target once had, and honestly despite the problems handed down from on high the Target employees are still polite, respectful, cordial and apologetic for the constraints they have had to enforce with regards to their coupons and price matching.  In both stores it’s not overly difficult to use coupons. Sometimes you get overage at Walmart, and Target will lower the price of the coupon so there is no overage, but they will still accept the coupon which is more than I can say for Walgreens. Walmart also corrects the prices of items if you point out that they rang up wrong, which is an improvement from my previous experiences. Target has always done this as far as I know.

All in all, as before there are reasons to shop in both locations, but the recent changes in Target’s policies and my experiences there has led me to the conclusion to once again pick my store carefully.  If I can price match something to Albertsons and combine it with a Target gift card deal, (though I’ve yet to try it) I’ll probably take advantage of it at Target. If I am not able to find bulk pears, nectarines or plums elsewhere I’ll go to Target for that.  Beyond that, right now it appears that Walmart is the better one stop shop.  This was not the case a year ago, but for now I’m switching my red cart to blue…or in the case of my Walmart, grey.

For a good list of deal matchups for these stores check out

Stretching a Buck for Target

and

Deal Seeking Mom for Walmart.