Starting today, 14 May 2019, Walmart has discontinued its price-matching program named Savings Catcher. The price-matching program, that automatically refunds customers any price difference between Walmart and its competitors, is popular among its shoppers. In its email to customers, Walmart has said that it is ending the program because it already offers the lowest prices in most cases.
The text of the email read like this:
Dear Customer,Here at Walmart, we’ve always been committed to providing you with low prices every day, so you and your family can save money and live better. Savings Catcher, which compares nationally advertised prices through submitted receipts, was designed to catch occasions when a competitor’s price on a particular item was found to be lower than what you paid for it at Walmart.What we’ve learned through Savings Catcher is that our efforts to lower prices upfront on thousands of items across our stores is working. Walmart’s prices win most often when you submit your receipts, which tells us that the program’s intent has been met.That’s why we have decided to discontinue the Savings Catcher receipt submission, effective May 14, 2019. After May 14, you will no longer be able to submit your Walmart Pay eReceipts to Savings Catcher. But don’t worry, the money you have on your Savings Catcher eGift Card will remain yours to spend until you’re ready to use it.We want to thank you for your loyalty and your participation in the program. We’ll continue to work hard to offer you features and services that deliver on our promise to save you time and money—whether you’re shopping in our stores or online at Walmart.com.Questions? Learn more about this change here.Sincerely,Your Walmart Savings Catcher Team
The price matching program was convenient and appealing to many shoppers at Walmart. The refund was in the form of money reloaded onto an eGift Card on the Walmart mobile app which could be spent either at Walmart or Sam's Club. When a price match is done, an email is received stating the same. Here is a part of an email which was received on August 10, 2018.
Since the announcement of the discontinuation of the program, there is general outage in social media from Walmart's customers.
Walmart PLEASE reconsider your decision to do away with Savings Catcher. Your reasons do not seem to be legit. This helped me so much. I got cash back most of the time and am very disappointed with you. #SavingsCatcher
— Kimberly Guajardo (@kimbow72) March 21, 2019
Earlier, on October 29, 2018, Walmart had made a change in its terms of using Savings Catcher such that the price-matching program would be applicable only if customers paid using Walmart Pay in their mobile app. Paper receipts scanned using the app would no longer be considered under the program. Payment using the Walmart Pay mobile app is done by scanning a QR code at the register which generates an eReceipt. The eReceipt can be directly submitted to participate in Savings Catcher right from the app.
A WRAL story on this news is here.
A Business Insider article is here.
