Target is ending its competitor price matching program, according to a newly leaked employee memo. The change, reportedly set to take effect at the end of July 2025, could prove controversial among Target’s customers.
Target piloted its price matching program during the 2012 holiday season before making it a year-round offering come early 2013. While the initiative was fairly limited at first, it expanded to 29 rivals—ranging from physical retailers to eCommerce platforms—in September 2015. As of July 2025, Target is one of the last major U.S. retailers that still offers competitor price matching.
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However, this won’t be the case for much longer, according to a newly leaked employee memo that started making the rounds on social media earlier today, July 21. The notice informs Target’s staffers of a forthcoming policy update that will purge the competitor price matching practice, in addition to providing some corporate talking points they are to leverage if customers ask about the development. The new policy is scheduled to go into effect next Monday, July 28, as per the same source.
Target’s New Price Matching Policy Explained
With the old program on its way out, what will remain of the initiative is a price matching policy that only applies to Target prices. These include prices on the Target app, in the same Target store, or on the company’s web store, including the Target Plus marketplace. Select Target Circle deals—personalized offers tied to the retailer’s customer loyalty program—will also remain eligible for pricing adjustments, the leaked memo reads. Target has also instructed employees to continue honoring lower prices in cases of mistagged items or clearance reticketing.
Why Is Target Killing Its Competitor Price Matching Program?
The leaked memo cites “guest feedback” as the chief reason for the policy change. While this could be interpreted as Target suggesting that customers asked for the competitor price matching program to be eliminated, the actual rationale is likely more nuanced. The memo hints at this by stating the change will make shopping “faster and more seamless.” In other words, customers were presumably expressing frustration with extended checkout times rather than objecting to the price matching program itself.
Target’s new policy will potentially cause its fair share of frustrations as well. The retailer acknowledged this possibility, with the leaked memo instructing employees to direct any feedback requests to the company’s Guest Relations department. Once the policy takes effect on July 28, GameStop will be left as the only major U.S. retailer still offering competitor price matching, albeit in a limited form, and only for products listed on Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.
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