Price Matching Saves Money, Time and Gas

The Kroger chain of grocery stores announced this week it will no longer allow customers to stack manufacturer’s coupons with its in-store coupons to get a better discount. The chains said it was too much money. This makes no sense to me. Manufacturers reimburse grocery stores for the price of the coupon, plus a little extra for the handling necessary to get reimbursed for the coupon. Unfortunately, Kroger is one of many stores who have started adopting this policy lately.

The good news is there’s more than one way to save on your groceries and still use your coupons. Wal-Mart recently revamped its price matching policy. That means you can take your ads from competing grocery stores to Wal-Mart and receive the competitor’s sale price without actually shopping at the other store. If Kroger is selling 12-packs of Coke at 4 for $10, simply take your Kroger ad to Wal-Mart and show them the flyer. Wal-Mart will match the price. You can do this for just about any grocery item in the store. Just beware of a few exceptions.

For example, the items you are price matching usually have to be identical. That means they have to be the same weight or quantity and the same name brand. If you are buying Driscoll brand strawberries at Wal-Mart, but the sale is for a different brand of strawberries at a different store, Wal-Mart may or may not honor that. It’s the same thing with beef or chicken. Many stores have specific meet suppliers, and it could be hard to find that same supplier for price matching purposes.

If you are like me, and you go to two or three different grocery stores chasing down sale items, price matching could save you a lot of time and money. With gas nearing $4 a gallon, getting sale prices on all of your items at one store could really save you money at the pump. Now, the people in line behind you may not appreciate the few extra minutes it takes you to point out price matches to the cashier, but they may learn something by watching you in action. Remember, it’s not them you’re trying to please. It’s your budget.

Is Wal-Mart the only store that matches prices? No. Target, does, too, although its policy is a little less flexible. Home Depot and Lowes will honor each other’s prices and sales, but I don’t know if they consider other competitors, as well. Sears, Staples and Best Buy, among others, also have price matching policies.

The best thing to do when you’re looking to buy something is call a store or go to its website to find its price matching policy. It’s worth that little bit of extra effort if it will save you time and money.