9 Ways to Save Money at Walmart
For lots of people, saving money and shopping at a certain big box retailer go hand in hand. Aside from a bit of convenience, pinching pennies is the number one reason why folks grace their brick and mortar stores, or browse their online listings. If you love frugal shopping, but you’re not taking advantage of some of this retailers’s quirks, tricks, and secret deals, you might not be getting the best prices. You can save money at Walmart, and keep more money in your pocket, by following some of these tips.
1. Use the Search Bar to Find Deals
Let’s be real for a moment: Walmart.com is not all that easy to navigate. They don’t make it very apparent how to find the best deals, but that is why the search bar (located at the top center of the page) is your best friend. Simply type “clearance” into the search field and watch all of the clearance listings magically appear! But you can get even more detailed with your search bar magic. Type “clearance $5” to see clearance items priced at $5 or less. For a more advanced move, type “value of the day” into the search bar to see rollback, clearance, and special buy items all at once.
2. Follow Them on Social Media
You can use the time you spend browsing social media to help you save money at Walmart. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye out for deals. They use these channels to announce freebies, sales, and other special offers. If you’re paying attention, you might have the opportunity to snag something great. If you’re not a big social media user, you can still sign up for their email newsletter. They send coupons on other deals out this way too.
3. Request a Price Adjustment
You might be aware of this retailer's price matching policy. Even though, they no longer do it in all of their stores, they are kind of famous for matching competitors prices. But did you know that they’ll honor this policy, even if the cheaper price comes directly from them? This is known as a "price adjustment." If you have a purchased an item from Walmart, and you see the item listed for a lower price, as long as you are still within your return window, simply contact customer service. They will refund you the difference. (There are some restrictions. For instance, clearance items and Black Friday deals don’t count.)
Price match for online retailers are limited to: Academy.com, Amazon.com, Autozone.com, Babiesrus.com, Basspro.com, Bedbathandbeyond.com, Bestbuy.com, Cabelas.com, Dickssportinggoods.com, Dollargeneral.com, Familydollar.com, Homedepot.com, Jcpenny.com, Kmart.com, Kohls.com, Lowes.com, Michaels.com, Newegg.com, Officedepot.com, Oreillyauto.com, Pepboys.com, Petco.com, Petsmart.com, Sears.com, SportsAuthority.com, Staples.com, Target.com, Toysrus.com, Walgreens.com
4. Price Match Other Online Retailers
For those of you doing your frugal shopping online, did you know that this retailer will price match many online retailers as well? They will match the price of at least 30 different online retailers, including Amazon, Staples, Dollar General, Kohl’s, and Home Depot. If you find an item listed online for a better price (and it does need to be the exact same item), check the website to see if they’ll honor a price match from that retailer. If they will, simply contact customer service and they will refund you the difference.
5. Use the Savings Catcher App
Maybe shopping around on 8 different websites is too much work you. If so, you’re not alone. Fortunately this retailer wants you to take advantage of their price match policy. So they’ve made it even easier. Every time you shop this store (online or in person) you can enter your receipt number into the Savings Catcher App (for Android and IOS). If another retailer has offered any of your purchased items for a better price, they will automatically credit you in the form of a gift card. If you don’t want to download the app, you can still use the Savings Catcher function on through the website.
6. Get Free 2-day Shipping
If you are into savvy online shopping, you’ve probably heard of this little company called Amazon. In an effort to compete with Amazon Prime, many companies have adapted their shipping policies. Rather than offering free shipping only on purchases $50 or more, Walmart has recently dropped their free shipping threshold to $35. And it’s not just any shipping. We’re talking free 2-day shipping (just like Prime).
7. Take Advantage of Store Pick-Up Discounts
But what if your order costs less than $35? You can still have your items shipped to your local store for free. As a matter of fact, they want to encourage this practice so much that they will give you a discount. This relatively new Store Pick-Up Discount policy drops the price of select items that are shipped to a store and picked up. Look for this discount tag on the bottom of item listings when shopping their website. You’ll need to add items to your cart to determine the actual price drop.
8. Shop Refurbished Items
If you are shopping for electronics, look for refurbished items. Refurbished items (items that have been used and returned, or sometimes broken and repaired) are a frugal shopping dream. Once again, turn to your old friend: the search bar. Type in the word “refurbished” to browse available items. You can save anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred. Refurbished items are still covered under a manufacturer’s warranty, so you know they’re still in workable condition.