Price matching 101: What to know before you shop
US Census: Americans spent $734.9 billion on food and retail items in March 2025
(InvestigateTV) — CapitalOne Research reported that 94% of Americans redeem at least one discount a year, sometimes by taking advantage of a little-known tool: competitor price matching.
Price matching allows shoppers to score a lower price by asking a retailer to match a competitor’s advertised deal on the exact same item. Many major retailers have this policy.
Shoppers simply have to research the policies for stores and visit the customer service desk to ask for the price match.
Cherry Dale, the vice president of financial education at Virginia Credit Union, said it’s most worth it for big ticket items like TVs, computers or furniture.
“They will tell you how long they have from the moment of the purchase. Maybe it’s 14 to 15 days to come back and bring in a different price,” Dale explained. “Maybe it’s the day of the purchase but it will give you the rules around the price match to begin with.”
The store’s policy will likely require consumers to verify the price match deal by showing proof, such as a paper flyer or an online listing, she added. Shoppers need to consider if the hassle is worth their time.
“If you just love shopping and getting a deal, a lot of times it’s even coupons and those types of things, it’s something that you love to do, that’s different,” Dale said. “But you also want to consider some of the smaller items. Is it worth your time to look to price match those sorts of things?”
She said deals on sites like Facebook Marketplace will most likely not count toward a store’s policy.
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