Comparison shows how online prices stack up against in-store tags at big box stores
A new price-matching policy at Target is now in effect.
As of July 29, the Twin Cities-based company announced it was killing the previous price-matching policy, where it would match prices with Amazon or Walmart. The new policy only lets shoppers price match Target's in-store prices with its own online prices.
That had us wondering if in-store and online prices are that different at big box stores.
The price match shift is a decision Dr. Kingshuk Sinha, who heads up supply chain studies at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, has been tracking.
"Maybe some of the benefits of the original value propositions are no longer relevant," Sinha said. "Second, that's not the norm in the industry. Neither Target nor Amazon chooses to do Price Matching because that's not profitable. Certainly, I am sure they have made that judgment."
Sinha added he doesn't expect much of a difference between Target's online prices with their in-store tags.
"It's good to keep prices consistent so you are not sending mixed signals," he said.
Sinha says if everything were cheaper online, there would be less motivation to go into stores.
WCCO put his theory to the test.
At Target, a floor lamp WCCO found was $150 in-store. Online, it was the same. A coffee maker was $129 both in-store and online and a designer bench that's $240 in-store had the same price online.
At Walmart, a TV was $448 in-store and online, and a robotic vacuum that was $329 in-store was not available online. A suitcase we found was $99 in-store, and a similar one was $90 online.
At Best Buy, we found a laptop was $699 in-store and online. A printer at the store was $50 less online.
Overall, some differences, but prices are mostly comparable. That is, until you see something else you like.
"If you can bring foot traffic in a place like Target, there's a lot of potential," Sinha said.