Kantar Retail: Walmart.com asserts price leadership over Amazon

Boston --Walmart.com asserted its basket price leadership position over both Amazon.com and a Walmart supercenter, according to Kantar Retail’s third annual Walmart versus Amazon pricing study. While historically the supercenter has dominated from a price-point standpoint, this year’s findings indicate a shift to more alignment between Walmart.com and the supercenter, with aggressive pricing in general merchandise on Walmart.com yielding the most competitive offer overall across the three venues.



The study found that Amazon’s basket was 12% more expensive than the Walmart supercenter and 17% more expensive than Walmart.com’s. Amazon’s baskets were most expensive in three out of four sub-baskets, including edible grocery, where the retailer was 37% more expensive than both Walmart channels.



The Walmart supercenter’s basket was 5% more expensive than the Walmart.com basket. While the gap between the supercenter and Walmart.com basket is narrower this year, the advantage for Walmart.com is a reverse from last year’s iteration of the study when the supercenter was 7% cheaper.



"From a brick and mortar standpoint, Walmart has long held a reputation as a price leader," said Anne Zybowski, VP, Kantar Retail and contributor to the study. "While Walmart looks to offer consistently low prices across channels, it is also contending with the dynamic pricing realities online retail entails. Amazon, in contrast, has built its mission around the customer, seeking to be competitive on price yet win through its vast assortment and focus on convenience. As shoppers increasingly incorporate digital and eCommerce into their purchase decisions, retailers are adopting more nuanced approaches that go beyond low price.”



Kantar Retail’s third-annual pricing study was conducted in Aug. 2014 among a Walmart Supercenter, Walmart.com, and Amazon. The study was performed during the high-traffic Back-to-School season to capture results from a period when the retailers would be particularly vying for position. Pricing information was collected in a single day over a 12-hour period. Given the common use of pricing algorithms, online prices captured in the study represent prices at a given point in time on that day and do not take into account dynamic pricing.



This year’s basket was adjusted to account for changes in SKUs offered over the past year and to expand the depth and breadth of the study. The basket totaled 53 nationally branded items in four categories: edible grocery, non-edible grocery, HBA, and general merchandise. Basket contents were selected to represent a diverse mix of categories and purchase options available to shoppers. Only items that were available at all three venues were included.