NEW YORK — Starting Thursday, Target will now match its online prices with more than two dozen online competitors including Amazon.com and Walmart.com.
The change in policy marks a big step for the Minneapolis-based retailer, which until now only matched prices at its own stores. Target is also allowing 14 days, up from seven, for shoppers to get a price adjustment. And the retailer is increasing the number of online rivals that it will match from five to 29. That includes for the first time stores that require membership, like Costco and Sam's Club.
The latest move underscores how Target aims to rev up its e-commerce business, which increased by 30 percent in the latest quarter. It also wants to win market share from rivals, a key part of its strategy under its CEO Brian Cornell, who took the helm in August, 2014.
In January 2013, Target announced that year-round it would match the prices of its store purchases with five online retail rivals that included Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Bestbuy.com. Target had started to match prices of store purchases with a group of online rivals in 2012 but that was only during the holiday shopping season.
Target's latest change in policy follows the lead of Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Staples, all of which match their online prices with online rivals. But Target's adjustment puts it ahead of other retailers like Toys R Us, which matches prices for in-store purchases with online rivals but only match their online prices with its own stores.
Late last year, Wal-Mart formalized its policy of matching its store purchases with online prices found on sites like Amazon.com. It also matches its online prices with select online rivals.