Walmart: Competitor Coupon Policy Clarification-A Must Read!

Several weeks ago, Walmart printed in their weekly sales ad that they accept all competitor coupons.  Since that time, bloggers across the country have been trying to determine exactly what Walmart’s policy will be.  I’ve heard so many different versions of what the policy is, and most of them contradicted one another.

I went to one of the Walmart stores in my area this morning and talked with the Fairhope store customer service manager.  I had a list of questions and types of coupons that I wanted to check on, and Mr. Rhodes was very accomodating and helpful.  At first he told me that the policy allowed Walmart to accept EITHER a competitor store coupon OR a manufacturer coupon, but then I pointed out that I was hoping they were trying to compete more fully with Publix and Target, whose policy is to accept both types of coupons on one item.  Mr. Rhodes graciously excused himself to check more thoroughly on that aspect of the policy, and I did my shopping.  I didn’t have any competitor coupons that I wanted to use that day, but plenty of manufacturer coupons.  I’m happy to report that I didn’t have any issues with the regular printables for BOGO, cents-off, or FREE items. BOGO’s will be rung by the cashier as half price. You need to tell the cashier that you have an ad for BOGO, and of course if they need managerial assistance, you can ask for the manager. If you’re in Fairhope, ask for Mr. Rhodes. It’s my understanding that all of the stores’ cashiers should be undergoing training for the change in policy.

After I checked out, I met back with Mr. Rhodes, who told me that he was mistaken, and Walmart WILL be accepting competitor coupons ALONG WITH manufacturer coupons for ONE item.  Here’s another awesome development:  THEY WILL DO BOGO price matches!!  BOGO’s will be rung by the cashier as half price. Here are the exceptions:

• Walmart will NOT accept $5/$30 or anything similar.
• Walmart will NOT accept ExtraBucks or Register Rewards.
• Walmart will NOT do overage.  Honestly, I’m not sure what will happen at the register if you have overage occur, but given the fact that the cashiers are having a hard time as it is, I wouldn’t even go there.

What they will take:

• Target mailer and printable coupons
• Walgreens printables
• CVS printables - this means that they will take the receipt coupons like the $1 off Combos that’s printing right now.
• Publix mailer, printable and store coupons
• Catalinas for $ off specific products.

I asked Mr. Rhodes what the best way to present the competitor coupons to the cashier would be, so that the checkout process goes as easily as possible, and here are the guidelines he gave me:

Before your cashier starts ringing your order, tell her that you have comps.  Walmart cashiers consider competitor coupons to be price comps.  Give her the competitor coupons first, and she’ll ring those with your items.  At the end of the order, you can hand her your manufacturer coupons.

I also told Mr. Rhodes that my readers needed to be able to have someone they could ask for if they were having trouble, and he graciously told me that he would be available for any questions and to help out anyone having trouble.

He also told me that the cashiers were going to be trained (I don’t know if they are aware that you CAN use a Target coupon and mfr coupon together) but that if you wanted to, you can come to him in customer service before you begin your shopping.  I’d ask him which cashier to go to so you know which has been trained.

Good luck, and please, please leave a comment below or on the CMC Facebook page and I’ll address it with the Walmart folks.