Shoppers are looking for ways to score the best deal to fight the impact of rising and fluctuating prices on their budgets. With fierce competition among retailers, some stores promote their price-matching policies as a method to help shoppers save. Stores grab consumer dollars early, and, in return, promise to match their own prices — or sometimes a competitor’s price — for many items.
But every store’s price-matching policy is different, and not all offer one (Amazon is a prime example). Some retailers have a list of exclusions, including certain products, services and sale periods, such as the week of Thanksgiving.
All this red tape makes taking advantage of these policies extra challenging, especially during the holidays when shoppers are buying more than usual. Here are some tips to help cut through the confusion and decide if price matching is a good shopping strategy for you this holiday season.
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Man seen holding his smart phone while shopping a TV in a home appliances store.
What is price matching?
The premise of price matching is to provide peace of mind to early shoppers: If the price drops, they can get the difference back into their pockets.
Shoppers typically use price matching in two ways: in-store during purchase or after the fact either in-store or online. In the first scenario, a shopper finds a lower price and provides proof at the register, where the lower price is matched on the spot. In the second, a shopper makes a purchase but finds a lower price in the following days or weeks and must go to the store or online to seek a price adjustment. This post-purchase scenario happens more frequently, according to Priceva, an IT company that offers a price monitoring service for retailers.
Who has price-matching policies?
Typically only major retailers, such as Best Buy, Target and Walmart, offer price-matching policies for shoppers. Smaller businesses are less likely to offer these policies. The best way to find out if a store has a price-match policy is to search online for the store name plus “price match policy.”
How to qualify for price matching
To qualify, you’ll need your original receipt and proof of a lower price, such as an advertisement from that retailer or from an eligible competitor.
These additional guidelines are commonly found in price-matching policies at major retailers:
- Item must match exactly, down to the size, model number and color. You’re out of luck if you want to price match the red tricycle you bought for your kid this holiday season and only the green one is in stock.
- Product must be in stock and available at the time of request. Your item must be ready for shipping or pickup to qualify.
- Item must have been purchased from eligible competitors. It’s not always obvious which companies retailers see as their competitors, but many offer a list online.
- Price-matching request must be made within a limited window of time. Some retailers offer a two-week window while others are more generous.
- Number of items eligible for price matching may be limited. The restrictions might include the number of items that can be price adjusted at once or in total.
Tips to make price matching smoother
Here are some strategies to set yourself up for price-matching success:
Use apps to research prices before you shop
Don’t rely on price-matching policies to save you money. Instead, be a proactive shopper and do your research before you buy, says Trae Bodge, a smart-shopping expert who runs TrueTrae, a website for consumers looking to save money. Doing research on “the historical pricing of that item” can give you a sense of its typical price and whether you’re getting a good deal, she says.
Bodge suggests using apps or browser extensions to be a proactive shopper. For example, with PayPal Honey, you can add an item to your Droplist to track the price and be alerted if it falls below a threshold you’ve set. “If Droplist detects a price drop after a shopper has made a purchase, they may be eligible for a price adjustment, and every opportunity to save is meaningful this holiday season,” Greg Lisiewski, vice president of PayPal Shopping, said in an email.
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File
This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be longer, pricier and in some ways more chaotic than in previous years, which makes it easy to overspend. But there are also opportunities for significant savings if you know where and how to search for them.
“There are supply chain issues, inflation, major retailers reducing inventory — when you put all of that together, it looks like a recipe for disaster,” says Jill Cataldo, a consumer coupon expert based in Chicago. Her solution? “I started shopping now. If you see something and it looks like a good deal, it’s time to pick it up.”
That’s because while prices are higher overall, retailers have already launched the holiday deal season, spreading out discounts and sales over the final three months of the year. Given that complicated background, here are the best ways to save money this Black Friday season:
AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File
This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be longer, pricier and in some ways more chaotic than in previous years, which makes it easy to overspend. But there are also opportunities for significant savings if you know where and how to search for them.
“There are supply chain issues, inflation, major retailers reducing inventory — when you put all of that together, it looks like a recipe for disaster,” says Jill Cataldo, a consumer coupon expert based in Chicago. Her solution? “I started shopping now. If you see something and it looks like a good deal, it’s time to pick it up.”
That’s because while prices are higher overall, retailers have already launched the holiday deal season, spreading out discounts and sales over the final three months of the year. Given that complicated background, here are the best ways to save money this Black Friday season:
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File
It might sound counterintuitive, but starting early can ease the impact on your budget and allow you to score the best deals. “I watch prices, see which retailer is offering the best price and always look for coupons before I buy — anything is better than paying full price,” Cataldo says. When she makes an early purchase, she keeps the receipt handy in case the price drops and the retailer offers a price match.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File
It might sound counterintuitive, but starting early can ease the impact on your budget and allow you to score the best deals. “I watch prices, see which retailer is offering the best price and always look for coupons before I buy — anything is better than paying full price,” Cataldo says. When she makes an early purchase, she keeps the receipt handy in case the price drops and the retailer offers a price match.
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
AP Photo/John Minchillo, File
Apps, browser extensions and other tools that will help you track and compare prices abound; you just have to pick the one that you like using most. You can find choices that scour the web in the background while you shop and alert you to lower prices, coupon codes and cash-back opportunities.
For example, the shopping app ShopSavvy will follow price changes on specific items. John Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Monolith Technologies, which owns ShopSavvy, says he uses that feature for things he has his eye on, like a digital single-lens reflex camera. “I want to get an alert the second those things get marked down, because it might only be on sale for a few minutes and then the quantity runs out,” he says.
The Camelizer app performs a similar function for Amazon prices specifically.
Greg Lisiewski, vice president of PayPal Shopping , which includes the shopping browser extension Honey, says when he wants to buy something, he looks up the retailer in the PayPal app to see if any discounts are available (under the “Deals” section).
Those discounts are especially valuable now because PayPal Honey reports that toys and games are 11% more expensive this year compared with last year, coffee machines have increased 7%, and cycling gear and equipment is up 9%. The company also reports that the biggest discounts this holiday season have been in cosmetics, musical instruments and general department stores.
AP Photo/John Minchillo, File
Apps, browser extensions and other tools that will help you track and compare prices abound; you just have to pick the one that you like using most. You can find choices that scour the web in the background while you shop and alert you to lower prices, coupon codes and cash-back opportunities.
For example, the shopping app ShopSavvy will follow price changes on specific items. John Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Monolith Technologies, which owns ShopSavvy, says he uses that feature for things he has his eye on, like a digital single-lens reflex camera. “I want to get an alert the second those things get marked down, because it might only be on sale for a few minutes and then the quantity runs out,” he says.
The Camelizer app performs a similar function for Amazon prices specifically.
Greg Lisiewski, vice president of PayPal Shopping , which includes the shopping browser extension Honey, says when he wants to buy something, he looks up the retailer in the PayPal app to see if any discounts are available (under the “Deals” section).
Those discounts are especially valuable now because PayPal Honey reports that toys and games are 11% more expensive this year compared with last year, coffee machines have increased 7%, and cycling gear and equipment is up 9%. The company also reports that the biggest discounts this holiday season have been in cosmetics, musical instruments and general department stores.
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
Getting a good deal isn’t only about price: You can add on other savings with coupon codes and cash-back offers.
Cataldo takes advantage of cash-back offers, which are available through apps like Rakuten, CouponCabin and Ibotta. “It’s just one extra step if you are going to buy online, and then you receive a check,” she says. “I like things that are easy, and that’s very easy.”
Scott Kluth, founder and CEO of CouponCabin, says stores with excess inventory will often have discounts of 10% to 15%, and cash-back offers range from 3% to 20%. “Stack all of those savings on top of each other,” he says, adding that sometimes online retailers accept multiple coupon codes plus provide free shipping.
Getting a good deal isn’t only about price: You can add on other savings with coupon codes and cash-back offers.
Cataldo takes advantage of cash-back offers, which are available through apps like Rakuten, CouponCabin and Ibotta. “It’s just one extra step if you are going to buy online, and then you receive a check,” she says. “I like things that are easy, and that’s very easy.”
Scott Kluth, founder and CEO of CouponCabin, says stores with excess inventory will often have discounts of 10% to 15%, and cash-back offers range from 3% to 20%. “Stack all of those savings on top of each other,” he says, adding that sometimes online retailers accept multiple coupon codes plus provide free shipping.
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
With so many people feeling the strain of rising prices, it’s a good year to talk with family and friends about setting limits. For Sarah Schweisthal, social media manager at the budgeting app You Need a Budget, that means creating a gift exchange with family members so each person purchases just one gift within an agreed-on spending cap. “We used to all buy gifts for each other, but there are a lot of adults in our family. It just took one of us to say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t feel sustainable,’” she says.
Schweisthal estimates that the gift exchange approach has saved her family hundreds of dollars — and this year especially, that’s more important than ever.
With so many people feeling the strain of rising prices, it’s a good year to talk with family and friends about setting limits. For Sarah Schweisthal, social media manager at the budgeting app You Need a Budget, that means creating a gift exchange with family members so each person purchases just one gift within an agreed-on spending cap. “We used to all buy gifts for each other, but there are a lot of adults in our family. It just took one of us to say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t feel sustainable,’” she says.
Schweisthal estimates that the gift exchange approach has saved her family hundreds of dollars — and this year especially, that’s more important than ever.
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4 easy ways to start investing with $100 or less
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, a retail research and advisory firm, says that getting to know your local stores and attending in-person events can be the way to score the biggest deals. “Store managers are being given the ability to negotiate and price match or price beat,” she says, especially when they have excess inventory in stock.
She suggests joining livestreams, following your favorite brands on social media and signing up for brand loyalty programs to be the first to hear about discounts or sales. “Some codes are only good for 24 hours and some prices are only good for four hours,” she says, so if you want the best deals, be ready to move quickly.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, a retail research and advisory firm, says that getting to know your local stores and attending in-person events can be the way to score the biggest deals. “Store managers are being given the ability to negotiate and price match or price beat,” she says, especially when they have excess inventory in stock.
She suggests joining livestreams, following your favorite brands on social media and signing up for brand loyalty programs to be the first to hear about discounts or sales. “Some codes are only good for 24 hours and some prices are only good for four hours,” she says, so if you want the best deals, be ready to move quickly.
Familiarize yourself with policies from a few stores and shop there
Price-matching policies work best for people who tend to shop at the same few stores. It’s much easier to get to know the ins and outs of a few store policies than to keep track of a long list.
How you choose those stores could depend on whether you have a store credit card or rewards card that gives you extra savings perks, or if you tend to shop at stores that are close to home. Either way, Bodge suggests getting comfortable with the store’s policy so you “have some recourse and know what that process looks like” if you find a lower price later.
Price-matching requests are also likely to be more successful at the original purchase location. Retailers will usually honor their store prices, so long as they fall within the designated time window. And while they’ll likely match their online prices, too, many won’t match the prices at their other store locations.
Be organized with receipts
This might seem obvious, but finding a safe place to keep all your receipts so you can find them later is crucial. All retailers require an original receipt, so if you can’t find it, you’re out of luck.
Price match only for big-ticket items
If an item is $25 or less, skip the price matching, Bodge advises. More expensive items could lead to larger savings.
Get a price match through your credit card
Sometimes you can avoid retailers altogether and get a price match through your credit card. Although price protection is becoming a less common feature of major credit cards, check with your issuer to see if the one in your wallet offers it.
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