2133 Grift Card

I saw a commercial for Walmart recently about how great they are when it comes to matching prices. The gist of the ad was that if you found an item that you'd bought at Walmart somewhere else priced for less, Walmart would make it up to you.

In the old days they called that a price guarantee. And in the old days stores that offered it would promise to refund the difference. You had to go to the trouble of buying the other item and producing the receipt or showing an actual printed ad to get it but at least you got the refund. 

Walmart has a new wrinkle. They promise to give you a gift card for the difference. Translation, they still keep your money. Yes, I overcharged you but here's a gift card for the amount I overcharged you that you can spend on some other item that I plan to overcharge you for. Sounds more like a grift card to me. 

BTW, studies show 27% of gift cards go unredeemed.  

Still, things are pretty tough in the discount biz these days. What with smartphones and all, and other retailers actually posting ads online for their discounts, I would think one of the biggest challenges Walmart faces is keeping their checkout lines as short and quick as possible. With folks always sticking their noses in their devices, the more waiting time they have in line, the more time they have to compare the price of what they have in their cart to a price online. And simply step out of line and not buy it in the first place. 

I plan to use my gift card to buy a new wallet. My last one got blown out holding all those unused gift cards. 

America, ya gotta love it.