Earlier this week Wal-Mart announced that it will match prices on most of its products for shoppers who buy something between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25 at one of its stores and then find it cheaper elsewhere. When customers find an item cheaper in a competitor's ad, they can bring in the ad and Wal-Mart will give the difference in the form of a gift card.
This policy is in addition to the existing price match policy in which customers can bring in competitors' ads or tell cashiers a competitor's price and ask it to be matched on the spot. Until now, a customer could not ask for a price match after a purchase, unless the lower price was at Wal-Mart. (Almost any major retailer will give you the difference if you buy an item at regular price and then it goes on sale within 7 to 14 days.)
Wal-Mart is to be commended for this policy, although I doubt that many shoppers will take them up on it. I don't think most of us have the time or take the time to keep our eye on prices after we've already purchased something.
There are a few items or situations where prices won't be matched at Wal-Mart.
+Groceries, tires, guns, tobacco, prescriptions, optical, cell phones with service agreements
+Internet retailers' prices
+Black Friday ads
+Limited time (6 a.m. to 11 a.m., for example) or quantity (one Blu-ray player per customer, for example) ads
