Dive Brief:

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that all of its 4,300 U.S. stores will now match prices found at online retailers, including Amazon.

• Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., has reportedly told managers of all stores to match online prices, a practice he said was already standard in about half the stores.

• In the past, shoppers were frustrated by Wal-Mart’s policy of matching prices of products found only in nearby physical stores, even when lower online prices were found on its own website. 

Dive Insight:

This move was probably inevitable for Wal-Mart at this point. Comparing prices has become all too easy for consumers, and not just for online shoppers. With many brick-and-mortar retailers matching online prices and with so many identical products found at retailers, there’s little reason for shoppers to buy most things at a higher price.