Study: Walmart Supercenter wins pricing battle over Amazon and Walmart.com

Cambridge, Mass. -- Walmart Supercenter wins the pricing battle over Amazon and Walmart.com, according to a new study by Kantar Retail. The study evaluates how a Walmart Supercenter basket contends with its online equivalent, Walmart.com, and its key online competitor, Amazon.

The study included a basket of 36 national brand items from four categories: edible grocery, non-edible grocery, health & beauty aids (HBA), and general merchandise. Basket contents were pre-determined to achieve a diverse mix of categories that represent the range of purchase options available to shoppers, with only identical items from all three venues included.

Despite the increasing competition from online, study results indicate that Walmart Supercenter’s overall basket is the least expensive of the three outlets. Among the findings:

• Walmart.com’s basket registered as 7.0% more expensive than the Supercenter’s, though its general merchandise sub-basket was the least expensive of the three.
• Amazon’s basket registered 20.5% more expensive than the Supercenter’s; with its most competitive offer coming from the non-edible sub-basket (beating out Walmart.com’s by 12.2%, but still registering as more expensive that the Supercenter’s).
• Walmart Supercenter led (or tied, in the case of HBA) in each of the three consumables sub-baskets, while Walmart.com recorded the least expensive general merchandise sub-basket.

“The study suggests that shoppers fulfilling weekly grocery needs should look to receive a better basket price at a Supercenter compared to these leading online venues,” notes Robin Sherk, Senior Analyst at Kantar Retail and contributor to the study.

To receive a copy of the Kantar Retail study, "Walmart Supercenter vs. Walmart.com and Amazon: Who Wins the Pricing Battle?," contact Katherine Clarke at Katherine.clarke@kantarretail.com.