A new report by Kim Souza at The City Wire claims Walmart is asking vendors for help funding its Savings Catcher program. While this particular report would not be unusual in most circumstances, it seems somewhat curious coming on the heels of other reports saying that the retailer has instructed vendors to offer net pricing and forego the trade promotion deals that suppliers use to drive brand sales.
It should be noted that Walmart has not yet publicly confirmed or denied the Savings Catcher report. That stated, Ms. Souza reported on Walmart's push for net pricing in February, well ahead of a recent Wall Street Journal article that caught the attention of a much wider audience.
Savings Catcher, which was rolled out nationally by Walmart in August, works by comparing the prices of items at the time of receipt with advertised prices in weekly print ads from competitors in the local market. The service works for either in-store or online purchases. If Walmart finds that a competitor has a lower price, it matches that price and gives its customers an eGift Card to make up the difference. The program, according to Walmart, had saved $2 million for Walmart's customers through September.
The City Wire report did not offer specifics for how manufacturer contributions to Savings Catcher would work.
While those who spoke with Ms. Souza said Walmart has the greater influence over whether its prices were lower than the competition, it was not a great surprise the retailer was asking suppliers to foot all or some of the Savings Catcher bill. Walmart has that kind of leverage as the world's largest retailer.