Consumers have become more price-sensitive because of the presence of various online marketplaces like Amazon. When it comes to online shopping, most consumers compare prices from one seller to another before making a purchase, prompting online stores to match competitors’ prices.
Price matching has become a standard practice for many retailers in the eCommerce industry. The consumer tendency to compare prices listed online has prompted eCommerce sites to adopt price matching policies. Given Amazon’s prominent position in the online retail landscape, the question arises: “Does Amazon price match?”
What is Price Matching?
In the context of eCommerce, price matching pertains to the retail tactic in which online stores like Walmart and Best Buy align their prices with those of key online and local competitors offering a lower price.
The goal of price matching is to help online shoppers save both time and money by offering lower prices and eliminating the need to visit multiple stores. Furthermore, price matching also offers other benefits, such as cultivating customer loyalty, fortifying brand trust, and improving business profitability.
It is worth noting that price matching policies vary among stores. For example, Best Buy does not guarantee a price match for stores not listed as qualified competitors. For Best Buy, qualified competitors include the following:
- Abt
- Amazon
- Apple
- B&H Photo Video
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- BrandsMart USA
- Conn’s
- Costco
- Crutchfield
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Home Depot
- Lowe’s
- Menards
- Microcenter
- Nebraska Furniture Mart
- P.C. Richard
- RC Willey
- Sam’s Club
- Target
- Walmart
As for Walmart, the retail giant also placed its own conditions and limitations on price matching, including the following:
• The customer must inform the Walmart associate of the price at checkout.
• The identical item must be in stock and available to purchase on Walmart.com when the price match is requested.
• Some price match transactions require a Walmart supervisor’s approval.
• Walmart reserves the right to limit quantities to one per customer, per item, per day.
Amazon Price Matching Policy | Does Amazon Price Match?
Price matching remains a favored option for online shoppers looking for the best value. While Walmart and Best Buy still provide price matching in 2023, Amazon has discontinued this practice, opting for discounted pricing.
In response to the question “Does Amazon price match,” the answer is NO. Third-party sellers should be aware that the tech giant has ceased price matching.
The removal of price matching from its price protection policy was a gradual transition. It is worth noting that in 2016, Amazon introduced on their website a significant change in their price match policy, commenting that:
Fast-forward to today, Amazon has entirely ceased offering any form of price matching, whether it relates to purchasing a television or any other product.
In a statement, Amazon made it clear that it continually checks its prices against its rivals to ensure they are equal to or lower than the competition. As a result, Amazon has discontinued its price matching policy.
Amazon customer service likewise confirmed that price matching policy is no longer available, regardless of the product type to purchase. A Twitter response by Amazon highlighted that:
Hello. We strive to maintain low and competitive prices on everything we carry. We constantly compare Amazon’s prices to our competitors’ prices to make sure that our prices are as low or lower than all relevant competitors. As a result, we don’t offer price matching. -Shanta
— Amazon Help (@AmazonHelp) September 21, 2023
Amazon Price Matching Alternatives | Other Money-Saving Options You Can Consider
Online shoppers go to Amazon not just because of its wide selection of items but because of its reasonable pricing. While Amazon price matching is not available anymore, there are other ways through which shoppers can save money, earn rewards, or get discounts while shopping on Amazon. Here are some tips to help you get the best deals on Amazon:
Leverage Amazon Deals
Amazon is popular for the deals and discounts they give to customers daily. If you want to find the best deals for a particular product or category on Amazon, visit Today’s Deals page on Amazon.
If you are searching for significant discounts, potentially reaching 50% or even more, be sure to explore Lightning Deals. These offers may have a brief duration, sometimes lasting just a few hours, due to their significant price reductions.
To check for Lightning Deals, click the “Today’s Deals” tab on the top left portion of the page.
Image Source: Amazon.com
Once redirected to the deals page, scroll down until you see the “Deal type” section on the left side of the screen. Under the said section, click the “Lightning deal” button to be redirected to the Lightning Deals page.
Image Source: Amazon.com
Amazon Cashback Rewards
A cashback reward is one of the easiest ways to save money while shopping on Amazon. In general, cashback rewards are in the form of a refund to shoppers’ accounts based on a percentage of the amount spent.
You can earn a cashback reward from cashback websites, including but not limited to Cashbackbase, Topcashback, and Quidco. Alternatively, you can also earn rewards when using your Visa card when shopping on Amazon.
According to Amazon, you can earn 3% on your Amazon.com purchases or 5% back with an eligible Prime membership.
Enroll in the Subscribe & Save Program
Enrolling in Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” program offers shoppers item discounts, anywhere around 5% to 15% on selected products. Once you are enrolled in the program, you simply shop on the Subscribe & Save store and look for the product you wish to buy. To get started with Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program, you may refer below:
Image Source: Amazon.com
Check For Promotions From Your Credit Card Issuer
There are also some instances where your credit card issuer will give you discounts or rebates when you shop on Amazon. You can take advantage of these promotional offers to get the best of your Amazon shopping experience. In some cases, your card issuers can give you up to 20% discount for your Amazon purchases.
Look Into The Amazon Discounted Membership
You may not know about two discounted Prime membership options to help you save money when shopping on Amazon. Apart from the actual Prime membership, you also have Prime Access and Prime Student.
Prime Access offers discounted prime membership for qualifying government assistance recipients. Instead of paying the regular Prime membership fee, the discounted membership lets you pay only half of the cost of a regular Prime membership.
Image Source: Amazon.com
On the other hand, Prime Students is another budget-friendly membership choice, offering a complimentary six-month trial of Amazon Prime to college students enrolled in two- or four-year programs. Afterward, they can enjoy Prime membership for just $7.49 per month, which is half of the $14.99 per month Prime membership fee.
Shop for Amazon Warehouse Deals
You can also explore Amazon Warehouse deals for quality used products. Amazon converts quality used, pre-owned, or open-box products into discounted deals which they showcase on a separate shopping page. Some of the popular categories you can shop for on Amazon Warehouse include the following:
- Computers and Tablets
- Kitchen
- Home Improvement
- Pet Supplies
- Amazon Devices
- Digital Cameras
- Video Games
- Automotive
- Unlocked Cellphones
- Furniture
- Televisions
Explore the Amazon Trade-in Program
Aside from Amazon Warehouse, you can also get discounts via Amazon gift cards when you trade-in your old devices. The Amazon Trade-In program lets you trade-in eligible items for a gift card up to 25% off. Qualifying devices you can trade for a discount card include Amazon devices, electronics, video games, and more.
Image Source: Amazon.com
Save with Amazon Coupons
If you want to purchase some must-have Amazon items and reduce your expenses, consider using Amazon coupons. Like many brick-and-mortar stores, Amazon provides coupons for select products, allowing you to enjoy enticing price discounts.
Image Source: Amazon.com
Take Advantage of Shopping Deals and Offers
Online shopping has gained greater appeal due to the availability of various online retail platforms and convenient buying experience. As these online stores compete for customer engagement and better profit, they often employ various marketing and promotional strategies to attract shoppers.
You can maximize these promotional incentives to enhance your shopping experience. Specifically, you can utilize Amazon’s promotions and discounts to maximize your savings when shopping on its platform. Even though the Amazon price match rule is no longer in effect, other ways exist to save money, as outlined above.
