Amazon vs Walmart: Who Has the Cheapest Prices?

As inflation continues to keep the economy in its grasp, more people are turning to discount retailers to cut grocery prices. When it comes down to the battle of two of the retail behemoths, Amazon vs Walmart, shoppers are asking which one has the cheaper prices online. One study says it’s Amazon all the way.

Profitero, an internet commerce analytics platform, stacked the two against each other and a handful of other key retailers and found that, in addition to grocery prices, Amazon had the lowest prices on video games and fashion but held only a narrow lead in beauty and toys.

Profitero compared non-sale prices of approximately 14,000 items across various leading online retailers. The report concluded that Amazon had lower prices vs. Walmart and 12 other U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, Chewy, CVS, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gamestop, GNC, The Home Depot, Kohls, Lowes, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Petco, PetSmart, Target, Ulta, Walgreens, Walmart and Wayfair.

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How much lower? On average, the study found Amazon’s prices were 16% lower. That’s a 3% difference from last year. 

Only a 4% gap separated Walmart's and Amazon's prices across identical items. Compared to last year, Walmart became more competitive in 10 categories, including video games, fashion, and home improvement. 

"Amazon’s and Walmart’s solidifying price leadership has significant implications for retailers, not just for holiday sales but advertising investments as well,” said Mike Black, CMO of Profitero. “If a retailer’s product ads show up alongside competitors with much higher prices, their conversion rates and ROI won’t be great. If you can’t beat ‘em on price, beat ‘em on agility.”

Amazon Prime Day, Amazon's two-day retailpalooza, is underway July 16 and July 17. Meanwhile, Walmart just had its competing Walmart Deals event the week before. Here's how the two stack up overall on prices. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Who has the cheapest grocery prices?

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017 sparked a rivalry between Walmart and Amazon that is still raging today as both mega-retailers fight hard to be your go-to shop for groceries. Both offer convenience, selection and money saving that extends well beyond just groceries. But how do they compare and is it possible to actually answer the question, who has the lowest prices? Let's break it down. 

Amazon Fresh

Amazon Fresh is an online and physical grocery store that offers low prices, same-day delivery and free pickup, but it’s only currently available in eight states. The service offers low prices on many of your favorite brands. Plus, you can get weekly deals delivered to your inbox or visit the weekly in-store deals page, and earn 5% back at Amazon Fresh when you use your Prime Visa with an eligible Prime membership. The Prime Savings Program lets Prime members save 10% on select everyday favorites, essentials, and more in-store only.

The good news is that anyone can shop at Amazon Fresh stores. To use Just Walk Out shopping or Amazon Dash Cart you will need to have an Amazon account with a linked credit or debit card. Delivery orders with 2-hour delivery windows will incur a service fee of $6.95 for orders between $50-$100, and $9.95 for deliveries under $50. 

Not a Prime member? You will be charged between $7.95-$13.95 depending on grocery size and the delivery window chosen. Grocery pickup at all of Amazon’s Fresh Stores and Fresh pickup points is free. Shop Amazon Fresh online.

Don’t forget, every Prime membership comes with free Grubhub Plus, a $120 value per year — as part of Prime membership, with perks like $0 delivery fees on eligible Grubhub orders over $12, lower service fees, 5% credit back on pick-up orders, and other exclusive offers.

Amazon Whole Foods

Seven years ago, Amazon purchased Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Since then, Amazon has made a lot of changes to the specialty grocer, including embedding checkout technology and lowering prices at its 500-plus U.S. stores. It is now one of the biggest organic food stores in the U.S. While prices are considerably higher than in regular grocery stores, the food is generally of a higher quality.

You can get your groceries delivered from Whole Foods, but the delivery fee will generally cost $9.95. When comparing Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods, the prices are quite a bit higher at Whole Foods. However, Prime members can save an extra 10% off sale prices, plus deals on seasonal favorites. You can apply for the Whole Foods Visa card and earn 5% back with Prime Visa and an eligible Prime membership. Check out Whole Foods weekly in-store deals.

Walmart Plus

A Walmart membership that has numerous benefits for members, called Walmart Plus, offers grocery prices that are generally lower than at Amazon’s Whole Foods Market. Walmart has also made strides over its competitors (Target included) in its local produce and organic offerings and added household essentials like pet food and cleaning supplies. Overall, Walmart offers more brands, with over 160,000 items available in-store. 

Customers are charged no delivery fees for shipping their groceries. However, there is a $35 minimum and some restrictions apply. In-store, members also get access to the scan-and-go service. Just scan the items you want to buy with your phone, pay with a credit or debit card, and head to the self-checkout when you’re done. Then scan the QR code that’s generated by the app, get your receipt and let a store associate know you’ve already paid. 

A Walmart+ membership costs $12.95/month or $98/year, but right now you can try Walmart Plus Free for 30 days. In comparison, Amazon Prime, which you need to use with Amazon Fresh, costs $14.99 per month, or $139 per year.  

Amazon vs Walmart vs the rest of the pack

• The competition between Amazon and Walmart is fierce. The study showed that the two companies have identical prices across identical products 70% of the time, due to how they compete with each other. No other retailer comes close. By comparison, Target and Amazon had matching prices just 26% of the time. 
• Amazon maintains a considerable price advantage in video games and fashion, with average prices that are 9% and 7% less expensive than its closest competitors, Best Buy and Walmart. Amazon held a narrow lead of only 2% in beauty and toys compared to its closest rivals.
• Against Amazon, Target saw mixed results in its performance, with prices 16% more expensive than Amazon, compared to 15% last year. Target improved in seven out of 15 categories, including home furniture, but slipped in the other eight.
• Only 1% and 2% separated Chewy and Petco from Amazon in pet supplies, making it the most hotly-contested category in the study. Chewy’s competition with Amazon is so fierce that they share the same prices 93% of the time. 
• On average, CVS was 52% more expensive than Amazon for health & personal care items; Walgreens was 42% more expensive. 

Here's a look at the retailers with the lowest everyday prices and the retailers with the lowest holiday shopping prices. 

Profitero compared identical items available and in stock in the same pack configuration. Data was collected daily over 12 weeks (July 10 - Oct 1, 2023), with daily prices averaged over the full period. Prices for the same items were collected within 24 hours of each other to ensure the validity of the comparisons.

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