Chain and/or Big Box Store Pricing
 

Much to my surprise, a given product may not be priced the same at all of the _______ stores. My oldest will frequently comparison shop the various Target stores around here to get the best deal on some things.

I also learned that not all Walmarts that have fabrics are marking down or closing out the same fabrics - or marking them down at the same rate. So a certain fabric may still be $5.44 at one store and on the clearance shelf for $2.00 at another store. Or be long gone by the time I found out there was a sale!

Thanks for the info. I had no idea.

yes, every store seems to be "owned" separately anymore. No one knows what the other is doing, or cares.

The same product that arrives at the same chain stores on the same day may be priced differently. Different locations may mean different overhead costs, such as one location having higher instances of shoplifting -- everyone who shops there bears that burden in the higher prices. The grocery store in the plaza I worked in had the highest meat prices of the chain because there was a homeless camp in the nearby woods. Too me, all they had to do was ask those men to take off their overcoats. They just are not need 99% of the time in Central Florida!

they set the prices at what they think the market will bear in that area.

I worked for a grocery store chain for 16 years and I did the tags and pricing. It depends on each store's "formula" and that is a closely held corporate formula. But it depends on each stores "zone". Part of the formula is what competition is nearby as well as other things. The last store I worked at, there was also another store literally across the bridge from my store and the 2 were in different zones. It was a headache because I was always being called up front to explain to customers why the price of something was different at my store vs. the store down the street. I finally quit because I was tired of the 20 hour day on price change day. Oh and by the way these store cards are rip offs, you don't save as much as it appears and about 2 weeks before an item went BOGO I would get a price increase, then 2 weeks after it would go back down. Some weeks I changed 10,000 tags so there is no way customers can keep up with the true price. You might remember a few on the items you buy all the time but there is no way you could remember everything.

I agree, I find the cheapest prices in the higher income areas. I have saw a dollar difference on a $3.00 item from a Walmart in a rich neighborhood and in a less affluent side of town. (Worked in the rich neighborhood, lived in the blue collar neighborhood). But the "formula" includes other things as well. Partly nearby competition which a store would more likely have in a higher income area. In a low income area, people have a fewer stores to shop, so there is less or no competition. Stopping shoplifters is a lot harder than you think. In NC you have to see the shoplifter put the item on their person and not lose sight of them before they leave the store. It is also dangerous for the employees and can cause law suits for anything the shop lifter can think of. Most are professional shop lifters, that is how they make their living and they know all the tricks of the trade. The company I worked for closed a store because they were losing $50,000 a week to shoplifters.

My son says thats not true.So of course I had to show him.I went with them last week to do school shopping.We only have 2 WalMarts to choose from, one 25 miles away and the other is less than 1/2 mile.On just the school supplies they saved $90-the 3 girls got 2 extra outfits in the cloths budget.So the 25 mile trip was worth the time it took We stopped and filled his gas tank before and after at the same station -less than 2 gals of gas for our 54 mile trip.So I killed 2 birds with 1 stone.I will no longer hear him tell me to stop wasting gas going so far and--DRUM ROLL-- OK Mom you were right.

We have two Walmarts within 20 miles of each other, the one is in a community that has a higher income base and it has higher prices than the other one.

Score for Mom!!!