CVS CVS Health Corporation

Target Corp. said Wednesday its website will start matching prices from the websites of rivals like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a significant broadening of its policy as the retailer heads into the competitive holiday shopping season.

Starting Oct. 1, Target.com shoppers will be able to match prices at 29 websites, including those of brick-and-mortar rivals like CVS Health Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp., as well as online only sites like Diapers.com. Target will also match prices from those sites in stores, expanding its current list of five rival websites as well as its own.

Price-match policies have become widespread among retailers, which previously resisted such offers for fear of losing too much money. Target itself hotly debated matching Amazon.com's prices internally for nearly nine months before implementing the initial policy in late 2012.

These days, retailers are constantly monitoring rival websites for price changes and will follow price drops to stay competitive. Prices are harder to change quickly in stores, however, so they can be higher for an item that has dropped even on the retailer's own website.

Even so, customers rarely take up these offers. John Squire, CEO of DynamicAction, a retail analytics firm, said that on average just 2% of shoppers use price match policies. But offering to match prices helps increase odds that a sale takes place.

The policies include caveats. The products have to be an exact match, and the retailer, not a third-party seller on the retailer's website, must have it in stock. Shoppers can usually only use it on one item.

Target wouldn't disclose how often shoppers ask for price matches. A Target spokeswoman said Wednesday that implementing the price-match policy never had a material impact to its business. The retailer also doubled the time frame where it will allow price adjustments to two weeks.

Though Amazon.com is considered a major competitor, Target doesn't have as significant an overlap with the online retailing giant as some other retailers in at least one category. According to data from Boomerang Commerce Inc., Target.com overlapped with Amazon.com on just 77 of 1,200 consumer electronics items surveyed, compared with 240 at Walmart.com. On those items, Target was about 6.8% more expensive than Amazon.com, according to Boomerang.

Target's policy mirrors the one in place at Wal-Mart, which matches online prices at Walmart.com with 30 other sites. Wal-Mart matches prices from Dollar General and Family Dollar Web operations, the outdoor retailer Cabela's and auto-parts retailers like Autozone.com. Target, meanwhile, includes the beauty products retailer Ulta and the online home furnishings site Wayfair.com.

Write to Paul Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2015 14:25 ET (18:25 GMT)

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