In Price War With Walmart, Target Pulls Ahead

Watch for falling prices, Walmart—they might hit you. Target had lower prices than its arch-rival this month for the first time since October, research from Bloomberg has concluded. Indeed, Target won out by the largest margin yet seen in the two years Bloomberg has been tracking the numbers. The difference was driven mostly by groceries, where Walmart's edge fell from 4.5 percentage points to 1.35.

Walmart believes Target's victory will be a fleeting one, driven by temporary sales or promotions. "Walmart is delivering everyday low prices—not pricing gimmicks," a spokesperson said. But analysts disagree. "Walmart has been rolling out 88-cent deals and very publicly communicating its ad-match campaign, so it's a real blow that Target has managed to trump them," said one analyst. Still, the difference in real terms is pretty negligible; for every $100 you spent this month, Target would have been 46 cents cheaper. (More retail sales stories.)