Group challenges Walmart's grocery savings claims

SAN FRANCISCO The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has scrutinized Walmart's ad campaign after food retailer H-E-B challenged the accuracy of Walmart's claims.

According to reports, H-E-B claimed that Walmart's price-matching policies were vague and its claim that buying groceries at Walmart could save a family at least $700 a year was misleading.

The NAD concluded that Walmart's "unbeatable prices" ads should be made "substantially more clear and conspicuous" in ads where it uses the "Unbeatable" claim. The group also said that Walmart should discontinue its "$700 savings" campaign since there was no evidence to support the claim.

The NAD argues that while Walmart cites a cost comparison study by Global Insight that looks at a national average, it does not take into account the competitive landscape of grocers throughout the nation.