Target, Walmart, and Amazon Fresh are the latest grocery chains in the U.S. to lower prices, after Southeastern Grocers and Giant Food announced initiatives to lower prices this spring.
Walmart said it rolled back prices on nearly 7,000 items in its stores.
"Our combination of everyday low prices, plus a large number of rollbacks, is resonating,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call, according to CNN.
While food price inflation has declined since last year, Walmart US President and CEO John Furner acknowledged years of rising prices are taking a toll on U.S. consumers, as well as the company’s bottom line. Furner said consumers’ financial strain has especially dampened the market for luxury products, including some seafood items.
“The nagging problem is stubborn food inflation that has been high over the last few years,” Furner said during the National Retail Federation’s 2024 State of the Retail and the Consumer event.
Target also recently announced that it will lower prices on around 5,000 frequently shopped items across its stores. The retailer has already reduced prices on about 1,500 items, with thousands more price cuts planned to take effect over the course of the summer, Target said.
"We know consumers are feeling pressured to make the most of their budget, and Target is here to help them save more," Target Executive Vice President and Chief Food, Essentials, and Beauty Officer Rick Gomez said. "Our teams work hard to deliver great value every day, and these new lower prices across thousands of items will add up to additional big savings for the millions of consumers who shop Target each week for their everyday needs.”
Target did not specify which of its seafood products would see lower pricing and did not respond to a request for clarification from SeafoodSource.
Gomez told the Associated Press Target is seeing deflation in some foods such as meat, seafood, and eggs but is still seeing inflation in dry packaged goods, such as candy.
In order to stretch their budgets, some shoppers are seeking the lowest prices in each category, while others are looking for larger value packs and private-label products, according to Gomez. As a result, Target is seeing growth in its own brands, including Good & Gather, Favorite Day, and Market Pantry.
Amazon Fresh will also be discounting prices up to 30 percent on 4,000 items sold in its brick-and-mortar stores and online. The price cuts, which will rotate weekly, include meat, seafood, frozen food, dairy, beverages, snacks, and pasta, the retailer said in a statement emailed to SeafoodSource.
Both Amazon’s private-label products and national brand products will be included in the price cuts, and Amazon Prime members will snag an additional 10 percent discount on hundreds of online grocery items.
"We offer great prices on quality items every day at Amazon Fresh, ensuring grocery shopping is convenient and affordable for all our customers. Increasing our Weekly Deals across thousands of items and expanding the reach of Prime Savings at Amazon Fresh is just one way that we’re continuing to invest in competitive pricing and savings for all of our customers – both in-store and online,” Amazon Fresh Worldwide Vice President Claire Peters said.
In late April, Landover, Maryland, U.S.A.-based supermarket chain Giant Food, a subsidiary of multinational retail company Ahold Delhaize, lowered prices on hundreds of items within its private-brand selection, including many seafood products.
Giant Food, which operates 164 supermarkets in the U.S. states of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, as well as in Washington, D.C., said its Giant, Nature’s Promise, Taste of Inspirations, Smart Living, Always My Baby, Companion, and CareOne brand lines now feature lower pricing on some products.
Additionally, Giant expanded its Flexible Rewards loyalty program, enabling customers to earn two times the loyalty points for every dollar spent on over 12,000 of its private-brand products. The items range from consumer staples such as bread and milk to fresh products across its meat, seafood, and produce departments.
Separately, Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.-based Southeastern Grocers, which operates more than 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores in the U.S. Southeast, implemented a spring season price-hold program in March.
Southeastern Grocers, which was recently acquired by Aldi US, said the program offers seasonal price reductions on more than 1,000 frequently purchased products, including seafood. The grocer is offering discounts on cod, fish sticks, crab cakes, flounder, and other products, Southeastern Grocers Senior Director of Communications and Community Meredith Hurley told SeafoodSource at the time.
