Walgreens Joins Target, Amazon, Walmart In Announcing Steep Summer Price Cuts - Forbes

Topline

Walgreens is cutting prices on more than 1,300 items as part of its “Summer of Savings,” the drug store chain announced Wednesday, joining a slew of big-box retailers slashing prices to boost sales amid persistent inflation.

Key Facts

Included in the price slash are name brand and store brand products, including its health and wellness, personal care and seasonal lines—such as facial cleansers, vitamins and summer essentials.

Target announced plans last week to reduce prices on 5,000 popular items throughout the summer, ranging from everyday grocery items to household essentials—and said it “just reduced prices on 1,500 items.”

Amazon Fresh is also discounting 4,000 items—both name brand and its own brand products—by up to 30% across its online and in-person stores, multiple outlets reported Friday, which will include frozen food, seafood, meat and pasta, though the selections will rotate weekly, according to CNN.

Walmart has cut prices on nearly 7,000 products across food categories, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said in a May 16 earnings call, though Furner did not specify what products have had price reductions—Forbes has contacted Walmart for more information.

Aldi is cutting prices for more than 250 items, including meat, frozen foods and snacks, the discount supermarket chain announced earlier this month—an initiative the company said will “pass along $100 million in savings through Labor Day.”

Tangent

Following Target’s May 20 announcement, the White House took credit for the discounts, saying in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter: “President Biden called on grocery chains making record profits to lower prices for consumers – and they’re answering the call.” The Biden administration has been putting pressure on grocers to lower prices as the cost of food remains high.

Key Background

Walgreens, which operates nearly 9,000 locations across the U.S. and its territories, has been reducing prices since last October. The chain has struggled financially in recent years, and reported a near $6 billion net loss for the second quarter—in part due to decreasing value of its VillageMD acquisition, which it bought a controlling stake in in October 2021. Part of the issue plaguing America’s pharmacies—and other big-box retailers—is inflation and increasing competition. Inflation hit a three-year low in April, but it remains above pre-pandemic levels. These inflation rates have made competition between retailers even stiffer, as many Americans seek out cheaper alternatives.