Why are online and in-store prices different?
Retailers frequently maintain separate pricing systems for their apps and physical shelves, causing unexpected price gaps in both directions. These discrepancies force shoppers to constantly cross-reference online listings and store tags to avoid overpaying, and often leave them relying on cashiers to manually override the higher price.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Checking prices on the app while in the storeDid this help you?
- 2Showing the app price to the cashier to get them to honor the lower priceDid this help you?
- 3Ordering online for pickup or shipping instead of buying off the shelf, or vice versaDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Used the app to locate it and noticed it was $6 more if I ordered online and picked up.”source ↗
“My wife just had this happen with Target. She was there picking up a Lego set that was priced at $23 off the shelf, but she always has the habit of checking if something is cheaper online. It was priced at $28 for ordering online with in-store pickup.”source ↗
“I had the same issue with a DeWalt wet dry vac. $20 difference.”source ↗
“I went there 2 wks ago for wood stain. The price that I found on their app was less than on the shelf. I showed that to the lady at the register, and she honored the lower app price”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 25Why does what I ordered online look nothing like the pictures?
- 6How to price products for both B2B and D2C channels
- 2How to track sales made outside an online store
- 2Why do sales reps handle objections differently at every location?
- 3Seller shipping from a different country than listed
- 4How to compare wedding venues with completely different pricing models