Money Saving

🆚Everything You Need to Know About Price Match Apps

Elizabeth
July 27, 2021

‍44% of shoppers go online during holidays so they can compare prices and 18% of the top retailers use price matching as a promotion strategy. That’s right, price matching is pretty popular, especially in the digital age when consumers are able to nearly immediately pull up prices from their phone to make sure they’re getting the lowest price possible.

If you’ve never used this money-saving tip before then you’re in for quite a treat. Not only does nearly every major retailer have some sort of price adjustment strategy to ensure that you can always snag the lowest price of an item. But, there are fantastic apps out there now that will help you price match simply by entering basic details into the database.

So, how do price match apps work? Which price match apps are the best? And, how do you even go about requesting a refund when you find something at a lower price? We’ve got all the details for you here so you can start saving money on both your online and in-person purchases.

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What is Price Matching?

Price matching is a term that refers to comparing the price of an item across various different retailers. In terms of the stores themselves, most have some sort of price matching or price adjustment strategy in place that will allow you to purchase the item from them if you can show proof (and a few other requirements) that you found the item at a lower price with one of their competitors.

In today’s competitive market, this is an easy way for retailers to retain customers and ensure that you’re spending your money with them instead of going elsewhere. It’s also a way for them to honor prices between themselves in a way that avoids monopolies if one store were to slash prices to extremely ridiculous rates. 

You might sometimes see price matching referred to as price protection. And, that’s often one of the benefits or rewards included in many credit cards. Usually, regardless of a store’s price match policy, you’ll find that most credit cards come with their own built-in price protection. This means that if you make the purchase using the card, you can contact your card issuer within a set timeframe and request a refund on the difference in price if you find it elsewhere cheaper.

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What Is Typically Included in a Price Match Policy?

How does price matching work? It depends on the retailer, but usually, you have to contact the store you made a purchase from within a set timeframe (usually somewhere between 14 and 30 days after you made the purchase) and provide them with some additional proof and details. Once you do and the price adjustment is approved, they’ll send you a check or give you store credit for the difference in price. This means that if you purchase a TV from Target for $300 and then in two days see the same exact TV for $250 from Best Buy, you could potentially receive a $50 rebate for the difference in price.

Now, it’s important to remember that most retailers have specific requirements. Generally speaking, however, most stores require a few things:

  • The item must be exactly the same, down to the model number and sometimes even the color (depending on the item at hand).
  • The item must be sold by a direct competitor (i.e. not on a marketplace like Amazon).
  • You have to claim your price match refund within their set timeframe.
  • The item can’t be on sale at either store.
  • The item must be currently in stock.

Again, these all change according to the store, so it’s best to check each retailer’s specific price adjustment policy before even entering a claim. Some make it difficult to request a refund for a price difference, requiring that you call or mail-in the refund request.

 

Which Major Retailers Price Match?

Price Tag

This one’s easy, as nearly every major retailer will price match for you. This includes, but is definitely not limited to:

Which stores have the best price match policies? It depends on what you’re looking for. Stores like Apple will price match if you request it, but they’re pretty strict with what they consider to be a competitor. The same goes for Dell, who only lists stores like Office Depot, Sears and Apple as direct, qualifiable competitors.

Target will price match products if you request a refund within 14 days, and you simply just have to provide proof in-store at their Guest Services counter. The Home Depot has one of the best price match policies in that they’ll also refund shipping costs if you request a price match refund on an item you purchased from them online. And, IKEA has one of the longest price match periods, giving customers 90 days to find a lower price and request a refund. 

In general, however, it’s best to check out each store’s policy. Or, simply download an app that’ll do all that for you.

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What Are the Best Price Match Apps?

Price match apps come in a few categories. There are apps that will allow you to scan a barcode at a store and then the app will check prices amongst competitors. And, there are apps that are more niche-based, such as travel, gas, groceries, and more.

Price match apps across any industry work by scanning items in their database and comparing them against each other. Most of the time, this means that you can scan an item or search for whatever you’re looking for (a flight, the cheapest gas around you, etc.) and it will bring up better deals if any exist. 

If you’re just looking to snag the best price of an item at a major retailer for general purchases, try checking out:

  • ShopSavvy: With this app, you can scan the barcode of any item you see while out shopping. The app will compare the price of the product to other products both online and at stores locally.
  • Shopbrain: This app is similar to ShopSavvy in that it searches over 1 billion products and stores including Amazon, Walmart, and more to find you instant savings. As a plus, you can download it to your phone or also as a web browser extension to ensure you get the best prices while shopping online, too.
  • Amazon Barcode Scanner: If you do a lot of shopping on Amazon then this is of the best price match apps for you. You can access and compare ratings and reviews for products you see in-store while also finding deals and discounts on Amazon.
  • CamelCamelCamel: Again, if you do lots of shopping on Amazon, CamelCamelCamel is a great price match app for you. Namely, however, it tracks price drops. So, you enter a product you’re interested in and it’ll notify you when the price drops automatically.

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Saving Even More On Your Purchases

Here at Earn Cheese, we’re sorry to say that we don’t currently have any sort of price-matching features. But, we can offer you something even better...savings without having to do literally anything. Really. To save more cheese with Earn Cheese, you don’t even have to do any receipt scanning or price checking.

All you have to do is sign up for the Cheese Debit Card and begin to reap the financial benefits that our account offers you. With up to 10% cashback in savings, you’ll be able to save more money to be able to spend more on things that matter. Also, if gift card shopping is your thing, then definitely check out the Cheese app! Here you can find up to 40% discounted gift cards for the brands you like!

Interested? Sign up today.

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For More Price Match Apps/Websites Review👇

⛽️The Best Price Match Apps For Gas

🥔The Best Price Match Apps for Groceries

✈️The Best Price Match Apps For Travel

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