Kantar Retail: Target Canada beats Walmart Canada on pricing

New York -- Target Canada is aggressively repositioning to drive its price value, according to a basket pricing study by Kantar Retail.



“Target’s price leadership in Canada has clearly shifted,” noted Robin Sherk, director of retail insights, Kantar Retail, and contributor to the study. “We found that the price of Target Canada’s overall basket was 3.9% less expensive than Walmart’s. In our initial study, the retailers’ basket values were effectively even.”



In August, Kantar Retail assessed a basket of 33 national brand items from edible grocery, non-edible grocery, and health & beauty aids (HBA) at competing Walmart and Target stores located within some three miles of each other in the greater Toronto area. The study was a follow-up to the initial study, which was conducted in March 2013.



In key findings:



• Target’s basket achieved its position through temporary price cuts (TPCs) as 36% of its basket was on sale. In contrast, Walmart’s basket recorded only one Rollback.



• A majority of items were very closely priced with 67% of the basket items priced within 3% of each other.



• If a shopper paid with a Target REDcard, the basket would have been 8.7% less expensive at Target.



“For Target, sharpening price is one of the key initiatives being implemented in its turnaround strategy, alongside improving in-stocks and expanding the assortment,” added Sherk. “While Target handily led this basket, it continues to struggle to shift pricing perception amongst Canadians, despite plentiful assurances of its “unbeatable prices” in store.”