Walmart drops the ball with Savings Catcher cancellation

Users are livid that Bentonville, AR-based Walmart Inc. is cancelling its Savings Catcher program, which allows shoppers to scan their receipts and collect savings for items sold at a lower price at local competitors.

Walmart said in an FAQ site established to explain the program’s demise that it has “worked hard to lower prices on thousands of everyday items across our stores, which has resulted in our prices winning the vast majority of the time when you submit receipts to Savings Catcher.”

Furthermore, the company says the program’s “intent has been met, which was to provide you upfront with everyday low prices so that you and your family can save money and live better.”

Reaction from frugal shoppers on social media, however, contradicts Walmart’s position.

One Twitter user said “So, @walmart is ending the #savingscatcher program. #Newslfash: that means they aren’t the cheapest anymore.”

I’ve tried Savings Catcher over the past few years, and…admittedly…never actually caught that much. Fresh produce prices were rarely applicable, unless I was shopping at Target, and I forgot to redeem my gift card balance.

I’m a bad shopper for this, though, because I usually buy with my stomach and not my budget.

I strongly suspect Walmart scored what it wanted out of this program, something that most consumers weren’t really discussing when scanning their receipts: shopper data and trends.

Most retailers in the country have some sort of loyalty program to track shopper data, and this gave Walmart some valuable insight.

Image sources are either licensed or customer-provided.