Price matching at retail stores isn’t new, but now that Target is on board, it may become a more dominant strategy in 2013. In a nutshell, Target department store’s holiday pledge to match prices of select online rivals this past December is now a year-round program with even more perks. For instance:

• Target will price match identical products at top online retailers, all the time. Yep, this means you can trot into your nearest store armed with prices from Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Bestbuy.com, ToysRus.com … you get the drift.

• Target will price match its own store items with its web prices, including those items listed as out of stock from the cyberworld shelves. Definitely take your smartphone or iPad on these shopping trips.

The store implemented the policy to fight what is known in retails circles as “showrooming,” which means you shop the bricks and mortar locations to examine the product, then order it online to get a lower price.

As of January 2013, Target’s online price matching is a step beyond what Walmart offers. And the store allows you to use coupons on top of the price match (although it was quick to carve out Black Friday ads and offers next November). The match is good for up to one week after your purchase, in many situations.

Click here for complete details.

Here’s a rundown of other prominent price matching programs in the country:

• Best Buy: Best Buy will match the price if you find a lower price on an identical available product at a local retail competitor’s store, a local Best Buy retail store or BestBuy.com.
• Walmart:  This retail giant will match any local competitor’s advertised price.
• ToysRUs: Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us will match competitor store pricing on ALL products in our store, instore purchases only.
• Hotels.com: If you find a lower rate for your hotel on another site, they’ll refund the difference to you, right up to the property’s cancellation deadline.

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