Walmart Is Slashing Prices on More Than 7,000 Products, Including Groceries

Grocery store prices are about to get a little more palatable — at least at Walmart. 

In August, during Walmart’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon announced that the company is placing pressure on its suppliers to reduce their pricing so it can pass savings on to customers. According to Quartz, Walmart will cut prices on more than 7,000 items across grocery categories as part of its “rollback” deals. However, as McMillon noted, there is one area of the store that customers may have to wait a bit longer for inflation to come down: Dry goods and processed foods, including sodas. 

“As it relates to value, we’re lowering prices,” McMillion said. “We have less upward pressure, but there are some that are still talking about cost increases, and we’re fighting back on that aggressively because we think prices need to come down,” he added, according to CNBC. 

The statement comes at the same time as Walmart announced its projected sales growth for 2024 to move to between 3.75% and 4.75%. However, according to company officials, that growth is coming from an increased interest in its private-label brands and not from increasing prices. As Quartz reported, Walmart also saw significant growth in its U.S. health and wellness division, including in the sale of GLP-1 drugs, as well as in its e-commerce units and via more high-income households turning to Walmart for value.

“We want to drive everyday low prices,” Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey added on the call. “we do not intend to achieve any of our margin performance by passing this along to our customers and members in the form of higher prices.”  

Walmart isn’t the only store promising to cut prices. In May, Target also announced it’s dropping prices on 5,000 “common” items, including grocery items. It made the announcement after posting profit declines as a way to win back inflation-weary customers.

“We know consumers are feeling pressured to make the most of their budget, and Target is here to help them save more,” Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief food, essentials, and beauty officer at Target, shared in a statement at the time. “Our teams work hard to deliver great value every day, and these new lower prices across thousands of items will add up to additional big savings for the millions of consumers that shop Target each week for their everyday needs.”