Home Depot and Lowe's bet big on customer-friendly pricing policy

Some may call them frugal or even stingy, but others consider them money-saving connoisseurs.

We all know someone who treats extreme couponing like a competitive sport because paying full price could almost be like asking them to sin. They spend hours hunting down deals, stacking coupons, and scouting the internet for every price-matching opportunity available.

💵💰 Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💵💰

So, it must have felt as if the whole world came crashing down on them when they discovered that many retailers have scaled back or completely eliminated their price-matching policies.

Price-matching has long been a strategy many retailers use to earn consumers' trust. It assures shoppers that they will always get the best deal without having to hop from store to store.

For retailers, it's a way to secure a sale and build loyalty, but in an ever-evolving economy and amid changing consumer trends, strategies are beginning to shift.

Some retailers have rolled back price-matching policies.

Image source: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Target strategically ends its price-matching policy

Target (TGT) recently announced that it will end its price-matching policy on July 28. Initially introduced in 2013, the policy was created to help the retailer stay competitive by offering the lowest available price on the same items also sold by major rivals like Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) .

As its policy stated, customers could only request a price match for identical items sold by specific competitors and for price differences between Target stores and its online website.

This policy gave Target a competitive advantage in terms of value, since Amazon has never offered price matching, and Walmart ended its program in 2019.

Now, Target will only match its own pricing if the price of an item purchased in-store or online drops within 14 days.

The retailer explained that this decision was driven by consumer behavior, since it noticed that most price match requests involved comparing its own prices rather than those of competitors.

This strategic move could help Target achieve greater financial consistency and forecasting accuracy, better positioning the company to manage the upcoming tariff impacts and potential price changes.

However, while several retailers have eliminated their price-matching policies, some still offer this perk.

Retailers that still price-match their products

Home Depot and Lowe's both still have price-match policies, but they have a different advantage that retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon don't.

Unlike other non-home improvement retailers, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) carry exclusive brands or products within specific categories. This makes it more difficult for customers to find identical items anywhere else, which limits the number of eligible price matches and allows them to continue offering price-matching without facing a significant impact, especially with the upcoming tariff implementation.

More Retail News:

Home Depot's official policy requires that the item being price-matched be identical in brand, model, and size to the one sold at Home Depot. The competitor must also have the item at a lower price, be in stock, and be able to ship it to the customer's location.

Lowe's price-matching policy is similar to Home Depot's. It states that an item is eligible as long as the customer finds a lower price for an identical in-stock item from another retailer. The competitor must also be able to ship the item to the customer’s location since the policy includes the item's price plus shipping or delivery cost.