Shopping at WalMart

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WalMart has buying power and it shows! They offer a wide array of goods from groceries and personal care to clothing, electronics, and furniture. They are able to keep prices low because they negotiate the best deals with manufacturers and buy in very large quantities.

They usually have a few items on clearance each week when the store needs to make room for new products or upcoming seasonal inventory. WalMart uses their low prices to attract an enormous customer base, which they use as a negotiating tool to continue buying and selling at the lowest prices.

In order to maintain the “low-price” distinction and customer loyalty, they offer a price match guarantee to their shoppers. Price matching is an incentive program you can take advantage of, in addition to using coupons, to save money.

Shoppers can usually price-match any of their local stores, even discount grocers, within a specified radius (this varies with the size of the city and concentration of stores in the area). This incentive is easy to use and you don’t even need to go to the customer service counter!

Below are some price-matching tips to keep in mind.

1. Remember to bring the competitor’s sales flyer. Some of the stores keep current store ads in a central location at the registers. You won’t be asked to show proof every time, but in the event you are, it will be easier if you have the competitor’s ad with you.

2. Items you wish to price-match must be the exact item in the competitor’s ad (size, variety or flavor, and quantity).

3. You can only price-match items advertised with a specific dollar amount. WalMart stores will not allow you to match percentage-off sales or “buy one, get one” offers.

4. Remember to go through a regular checkout (no self-checking when you want to price-match).

5. Keep items you plan to price-match separate when you check out (either at the beginning or the end of your transaction). This just helps you and the cashier keep things more organized.

One drawback to shopping at WalMart is the size, variety, and selection of certain products. Because they stores are looking to pay, and offer, the lowest possible price on a product, they often have unique sizes and varieties. The selection may be limited to the most popular variety of a certain product, or the product you want could be packaged with a promotional item (like a free sample of lotion when you purchase a bottle of sunscreen) or be sold only in larger volume containers. This can make using coupons and price matching a little more difficult and, at times, result in lost savings or force us to buy products that we wouldn’t typically choose to buy.

Another drawback: it’s easy to wander the store (assuming you do not have your screaming toddler with you) to see if there is anything else you might need and end up wasting away your savings with impulse purchases.

Good Luck and Happy Saving!