Best Buy has complained to attorney generals in more than half a dozen states about allegedly inaccurate product ads that targeted retailers including Toys 'R' Us and Best Buy, reports the WSJ. The ads are said to have cited inaccurate prices and compared different products.
Walmart spokesperson Steven Restivo defends the ads saying, "We know competitors don't like it when we tell customers to compare prices and see for themselves. We are confident on the legal, ethical and methodological standards associated with our price comparison ads."
Best Buy said some of Wal-Mart's promotions, including a deal on the iPhone 5, had a measurable effect on its profits due to a price-match guarantee that requires the retailer to match the price of competitor's ads. Best Buy said it lost about $65,000 in profit the day Wal-Mart's promotion first ran on Facebook, because it was compelled to match Wal-Mart's advertised $150 price, even though it concluded that Wal-Mart didn't actually have a sufficient number of iPhones available.
Responding, Walmart told the WSH that it shipped double the amount of iPhones during the promotion and that it was 98% in stock at stores that carried it.
Just before the holidays Walmart discounted the iPhone 5 further to $127.
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Walmart spokesperson Steven Restivo defends the ads saying, "We know competitors don't like it when we tell customers to compare prices and see for themselves. We are confident on the legal, ethical and methodological standards associated with our price comparison ads."
Best Buy said some of Wal-Mart's promotions, including a deal on the iPhone 5, had a measurable effect on its profits due to a price-match guarantee that requires the retailer to match the price of competitor's ads. Best Buy said it lost about $65,000 in profit the day Wal-Mart's promotion first ran on Facebook, because it was compelled to match Wal-Mart's advertised $150 price, even though it concluded that Wal-Mart didn't actually have a sufficient number of iPhones available.
Responding, Walmart told the WSH that it shipped double the amount of iPhones during the promotion and that it was 98% in stock at stores that carried it.
Just before the holidays Walmart discounted the iPhone 5 further to $127.
Read More