One of the most amazing money saving tools we as Canadians have in our arsenal is price matching. To price match something simply means to go to one store, show an advertisement for a product and price from a competitor’s store, and purchase it for that price from the store you are in. For instance Freshco price matches its local competitors in my area. No Frills is a competitor so Freshco will sell me a product No Frills has advertised for the same price, even though it is lower than Freshco’s price.

What Can I Use Price Matching on?

This does not only apply to food products. Lots of companies such as Home Depot and Canadian Tire price match. Making for a one stop shopping experience on most items.

It is the foundation of most of the deals we get while using coupons, and it allows us to buy foods and other things at a cheaper price that may not otherwise have had a deal. It also allows us to get the great advertised price of another store while not having to actually travel to those stores, thus, saving us not only money but also time!

How to Price Match

Price Matching requires a couple of things. It requires that you are buying the exact same product (same brand, size, and description). You also need to make sure that the store you are purchasing it at have the item in stock. It requires that you have a printed or digital, (this depends on store), version of the sale that includes store name, date, description and price. It requires that the store you’re price matching from be local and a competitor.

Local and Competitor is where you run into some interpretation issues. What each store considers a local competitor is at the stores descretion. For instance, Rexall is close in proximity to my superstore but because they are a drug store, they are not considered a competitor. A lot of store websites and flyers contain their price match policy so it is best to review these.

Limits are also at the discretion of the store and subject to change. For instance, Freshco here price matches 2 items while Real Canadian Superstore is 6. Recently, my No Frills went from 6 to 4. It is always best to check with the store manager and keep apprised of changes as they happen.

There are several Canadian price matching apps. To check them out click here.