Target Is Spying on You, and You're Paying for It

I’m gonna get right to the point: the Target app will show you one price at home, and a completely different price once you get to the store.

Pay attention, do your homework and stand up for yourself to make sure you’re getting the best possible prices at Target.

Check out all the best Target coupons from KCL and read our article on how to coupon at Target.

 

Target’s app will show different prices of the same items, depending on your location.

Target cares about where you are. At home, if you look up baby food for $1.17 per packet, you may be surprised to find that when you go to the store, the app will show $1.59 per packet.

Target prioritizes its in-store prices, and the app will (most of the time) change the price once you get to the store.

 

Turn off your Location Services or grab a screenshot to guarantee the lowest price.

Since the app itself is changing the price, the L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise with 60+ Surprises that you saw for $69.99 on the app at home will likely cost more once you get there. In our case, it jumped up to $79.99.

To save time — and maybe a little sanity?— take a screenshot of the item you want before you leave the house. If you plan to price-check multiple items, then turn off your Location Services before you head out.

Definitely compare your app price to the listed shelf price, though.

TIP: You can also just shop online and use in-store pickup.

 

 

Sometimes the in-store price will be lower — but it’s super rare.

It’s pretty rare to find items that are lower in the store than on the app. But it happens.

A Paddington 2 DVD dropped from $15.99 in the app to $10 to match the store price, and the app price for Market Pantry pretzels dropped from $8.79 in-app to the in-store price of $7.91.

More often than not, the prices online are just better, so plan ahead.

 

Target will still price match themselves, but you’ve got to do your homework.

The Target stores will honor a lower online price if you show them evidence of a lower price via the app. When price matching with the Target app, it has to show the price of the item at the current store location.

In most cases, Target will price match for you right at the register, but if it’s a large enough discrepancy, they might ask you to head to customer service.

NOTE: Some Targets might refuse a screenshot since they want to make sure the deal is live, so check with a store manager.

 

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