Target Follows Suit Will Price Match Online Retailers During Holidays

Not to be outdone by other retailers, Target has announced that for the first time ever it plans to price match selective online retailers during the holiday shopping period between November 1 and December 16.

Following the lead set by Best Buy’s own announcement, this holiday season Target will allow price matching of several online retailers including Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Bestbuy.com, Toysrus.com and babiesrus.com. As with many brick and mortar retailers Target has been reluctant to price match online deals. Typically only price matching deals that can be purchased at local competitors. But now pressure from online retailers and a likely drop in in-store business has forced the company to rethink its policies.

Much like Best Buy's new policy Target's isn't a open match free for all. The policy does have a couple stipulations when it comes to price matching Amazon. Target will not honor the price of a third-party retailer that lists their products on Amazon. In addition, anyone that wants to price match a specific item will have to visit the guest services area to obtain the same price for an Amazon product, they will then need to verify and accept or decline the price match.

Target Corp.'s CEO Gregg Steinhafel made the announcement to about 80 reporters at a company media conference Tuesday. "We're proud of our prices," Steinhafel told the audience. "We believe this plays into our strength. But we also wanted to ensure our (customers) that they can shop with confidence."

In addition to the new prce match policy Target has added a few new features to draw customers and their holiday cash. For the first time this year, Target's shoppers can shop from television spots, bus shelter ads and catalog pages by using their mobile phones to send a text or scan a QR codes. For Apple users the company has also launched a Passbook application that allows you to save and store mobile coupons.

Marketing featuring the new scan-able QR codes will begin Nov. 7 and last through the holiday season.

Source: Bloomberg