Walmart is known for having a very generous price matching policy. They price match most major retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, and more. However, this only applies to purchases made on Walmart.com.
When shopping in stores, the Walmart price matching policy is more strict. For example, Walmart retail stores will not price match prices found at other Walmart locations. That said, Walmart retail locations do price match prices found on Walmart.com.
Unlike Walmart.com, Walmart stores will not price match competitors.
To learn more about Walmart’s price match policy, check out our post about it here.
Contents
Why Doesn’t Walmart Price Match Other Walmarts?
The simplest explanation for why Walmart doesn’t price match their own in-store prices is because Walmart sets their prices differently depending on each store’s location.
Walmart’s in-store prices are set based on a variety of factors including proximity to distributors, product availability, regional markets and demand, etc. So, if one Walmart store is selling a product at a particular price, that price has been decided on for a specific reason. Price matching a price set at another store would defeat the purpose of setting prices on a store-to-store basis.
Exclusions To The Walmart Price Match Policy
While the Walmart price match policy is quite generous in most cases, there are quite a few exceptions.
The main exceptions are…
- Walmart stores will only price match prices found on Walmart.com
- Walmart.com will only price match competitor prices from a designated list
- Price adjustments (post-purchase price matching) must happen within seven days of purchase
- Price matching and adjustments are not available to customers shopping on Walmart.com from Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico
But the list doesn’t stop there.
Walmart will not price match…
- Walmart Marketplace prices
- Special event prices (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.)
- Promotional offers and discounted prices
- Refurbished items
- Wholesale club prices
- Prices that require membership to access (including Amazon Prime)
To view the full list of exceptions to the Walmart price match policy, check out our article about it here.
How To Price Match At Walmart
When shopping at a Walmart retail location, you can request a price match by finding the item you wish to buy listed on Walmart.com to verify that the online price is lower than what’s being offered at the store.
The easiest way to do this is to visit Walmart.com or the Walmart app using your smartphone while you’re at Walmart. You can also find the listing online at home and then print it out to bring to Walmart with you.
The items must be identical in all ways (including size, color, etc.), otherwise you will not qualify for a price match. If the online price is lower, you can request a price match by showing the listing to a Walmart employee.
If you’d like to request a price match when shopping on Walmart.com, the process is a bit different.
Walmart.com price matches a range of online competitors, so you can find your product listed at a lower price from any retailer on that list. Just make sure that the price fits the rest of the parameters of the price match policy (for example, Amazon Prime prices don’t qualify, even though standard Amazon prices do.)
Once you’ve found the product listing showing the price you want Walmart to honor, visit Walmart.com and click on the “Help” tab. From there, click “Contact Us.” This will connect you with a chat feature where you can ask a Walmart representative to walk you through the price matching process.
You can also request an online price match by contacting Walmart customer service at 1-800-925-6278.
Price Matching vs Price Adjustment?
Walmart offers both price matching and price adjustment, but not in all circumstances.
Price matching is something that happens at the time of a purchase. Basically, if you can show that the item you’re buying is available for less money elsewhere, Walmart might be willing to “match” the lower price.
Price adjustment, on the other hand, happens after you’ve already made your purchase. If you find the item you bought available elsewhere for a lower price within seven days of your purchase, you can request a price adjustment and receive a refund for the extra money you paid originally.
If you receive a price adjustment refund, you will receive your refund back to your original form of payment. While price adjustments are available for in-store purchase, Walmart does not offer price adjustment for purchases made on Walmart.com.
Can Walmart Refuse Your Price Match Request?
Although Walmart has a generous price matching policy, they reserve the right to refuse a price match request at any time.
First off, their policy has quite a few exclusions, so there is a chance that your price match request won’t meet the required parameters. However, even if it does, Walmart can still say no. This is up to the discretion of the store manager or customer service representative you speak to.
FAQs
Does Walmart have to honor a mismarked price?
In most cases, yes. Walmart will honor mismarked prices as long as it’s clear that the price was displayed incorrectly by Walmart. However, if Walmart suspects that a customer has intentionally changed a price tag to get a lower price, they will not honor this as it is considered a form of theft.
How long do you have to match prices at Walmart?
Seven days from your date of purchase. Post-purchase price matching is known as price adjustment.
Does Walmart price match during Black Fridays?
No. Walmart does not price match promotional pricing associated with events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.
