Just in time for the election holidays, another retailer is announcing another round of price reductions to help take the sting out of inflation and boost business ahead of the busiest shopping season of the year.
Target this morning said it would be reducing regular prices on more than 2,000 items, ranging from grocery products to holiday gifts and decor.
“Target routinely adjusts its prices to remain competitive in markets across the country,” the retailer announced. This round of price reductions “will help consumers save on items for holiday preparations and gifting, like toys, board games, beauty products, bath towels, snacks, beverages, frozen vegetables, cookies, ice cream, toilet paper, cough and cold medicine and more.”
In the grocery aisles, the price cuts will be featured on both Target-owned and national brands. Some of the examples Target offered included a 40 fl. oz. bottle of Crisco vegetable oil, reduced from $5.29 to $4.79, and a 32 fl. oz. container of Coffee Mate Natural Bliss Sweet Cream Creamer, reduced from $5.29 to $4.99.
Walmart, as it is wont to do, quickly undercut those new prices. A check of its website this morning shows its regular prices are now precisely a penny less than Target’s.
So the good news for shoppers is that, as one retailer goes, so go the others. It used to be that during tough economic times, coupon use soared and retailers relied on promotions to get attention and boost sales. This time, while coupon use is rising and promotions are more prominent, retailers’ response is increasingly coming in the form of everyday price reductions.
Back in the spring, everyone from club store Costco to discounter ALDI to online retailer Amazon to regional grocery chain Giant Food announced lower prices on thousands of items. Target and Walmart did, too – Target at the time announced plans to lower prices “on 5,000 frequently shopped items,” and today it says the actual number ended up being closer to 8,000. Walmart recently boasted “more than 7,200 rollbacks across categories” and said it planned to “continue working to get more.”
The price reductions come in response to a combination of factors. With inflation-weary shoppers at their breaking point and cutting back on what they buy, retailers are betting that giving up a few dimes or dollars in profit on each item will be worth it in the long run. And so far, it has been – both Target and Walmart reported increased sales and profits in their last quarterly earnings reports. “We feel great about the reaction that we’re seeing from the consumer based on the 5,000 items where we’ve seen price reductions,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in August. “Consumers are responding to our offerings in an environment where they’re focused on value.” Walmart added that its “value proposition is resonating with customers,” and said it was pushing its suppliers to keep prices down so it could continue to pass along savings to its shoppers.
The moves also come as politicians – including presidential candidates – have turned elevated grocery prices into a major election-year issue. Making big public announcements about lowering everyday prices could take some of the pressure off, get some positive publicity, and encourage politicians to back off any efforts to impose solutions.
It’s worth noting, of course, that no one makes splashy announcements when prices begin creeping up again. Target says its new prices are lower than last year’s, but prices of everyday items are unlikely to ever return to 2019 levels. And while the new prices are permanent in the sense that they’re not short-term promotions, nothing is ever really permanent if economic conditions worsen and all of these retailers’ new lower prices don’t last.
For now, though, your next Target run or Walmart visit could be a little more affordable. And that could prove to be good news for shoppers, for retailers – and, with potentially one less problem on their plate, even for politicians.
Image source: Target
