First of all, a price adjustment is exactly what it sounds like–it’s when a retailer adjusts the retail price of an item to match a lower price offered elsewhere.
Target’s price adjustment policy falls under their Price Match Guarantee. This guarantee allows customers to request a “price adjustment” within 14 days of purchasing an item. What this means is that if your item drops in price within two weeks of your original purchase, you might be able to receive a refund for the difference at Target.
However, some exclusions apply. (We’ll get into those later.)
Target offers price adjustment for its own prices as well as for qualifying competitors. If you purchase a qualifying item at a Target store or on Target.com, then find the same product for less from an online competitor or through a competitor’s printed local ad, Target will honor the price adjustment. Target stores will also price match Target.com if you find the same item for less online. However, Target stores do not offer price adjustments for items sold at other Target store locations.
For a full look at Target’s Price Match Guarantee, click here. You can also check out our post about it here.
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Price Adjustment Exceptions
While the policy is quite generous, there are a few exceptions to be aware of.
Conditions and exclusions to the Target price adjustment policy include:
- An item’s price must be listed and valid at the time of the price adjustment request
- Your item must be identical to the lower-priced item (brand name, size, weight, model number, color)
- Target stores do not offer price adjustments based on prices found at other Target store locations
- Alaska and Hawaii Target stores do not offer price adjustments
- Target reserves the right to limit the number of price adjustments they will guarantee per customer
- Target does not offer price adjustment for coupon offers, loyalty card rewards, promotional codes, or credit or gift card offers
- Target Plus™ Partners items do not qualify for price matching
Unfortunately, the exclusions don’t stop there.
None of the following are eligible for price adjustment at Target:
- Clearance, closeout, or liquidation items
- Damaged or used items
- Out-of-stock items
- Items with open packaging
- Refurbished, pre-owned, or rent/lease-to-own items
- Promotional items (including Black Friday deals)
- Items sold at % or $ off amounts
- Non-branded items
- Items with prices that require membership to view (ex. Amazon Prime pricing)
- Contract mobile-phone devices or associated plans
- Optical products
- Services
- Clinic or pharmacy purchases
Price Adjustment vs. Price Match
Price adjustments and price matching are very similar. The only difference is that one happens at the time of your original purchase while the other happens after the fact.
For example, if you are purchasing a laptop at Target but you can prove that it’s available for a lower price online from Best Buy, Target will match the Best Buy price at the time of your purchase. This is called price matching.
Alternately, say you bought the computer at Target last week, and then you happened to notice that the same computer is available for a lower price this week at Best Buy. You can receive a price adjustment by contacting Target or visiting a Target location and requesting a refund for the difference. This is known as price adjustment, otherwise known as a retroactive price match.
How To Get A Price Adjustment
A Target price adjustment can be requested at any time within 14 days of your original purchase.
Follow these steps to receive a price adjustment refund from Target:
- Visit or contact Target within 14 days of your original purchase
- Make sure you have your receipt or other proof of purchase along with a valid and up-to-date proof of the lower price from one of Target’s qualifying competitors
- When visiting a Target store in person, find the customer service desk (usually located near the entry/exit doors) and let an employee know you would like to request a price adjustment
- To request a price adjustment for an item purchased online, call 1 (800) 591-3869 or chat with a Target representative by clicking here (be sure to have your order number and item information ready, along with a link to the digital ad displaying the lower price)
- Once your price adjustment is verified and approved, you will be issued your refund to your original form of payment.
For Clearance Items
Unfortunately, Target does not honor price matching or price adjustment for clearance items.
Most sale items do not qualify for price adjustment or price matching at Target per Target’s price matching policy. Unfortunately, this includes promotional sales during events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Price Adjustments Without A Receipt
Proof of purchase is required for all price adjustments at Target.
You can provide a purchase receipt, online purchase record, or packing slip to fill this requirement. If you cannot provide proof of purchase to verify the price you paid for your item, you will not qualify for a price adjustment.
Getting Your Refund
When you’re issued your price adjustment refund from Target, you will receive it in the same form you paid originally.
In other words, if you paid in cash at a Target store location, you will receive your partial refund in cash. However, if you paid via a credit card online, you will have to wait for the digital refund to be processed and credited back to your account. This can take several days.
Does Target Have a Good Price Adjustment Policy?
Target is known for having a very generous price adjustment policy comparable to if not better than its competitors.
For example, due to recent changes made to Walmart’s price matching policy, Target’s policy now stands out as the clear winner.
Other companies like Best Buy offer price adjustment policies that rival Target’s. However, popular companies like Costco and Amazon do not offer price adjustment at all as of 2023.
FAQs
Does Target give money back if something goes on sale?
This depends. If the price of your item drops within 14 days of purchase, you might qualify for a price adjustment at Target. However, the lower price cannot be associated with any sort of clearance, close out, or liquidation sale, and it cannot be advertised as a % or $ off amount. To find out if your item qualifies for a price adjustment, contact Target directly.
Does Target have a price checker?
Yes. The Target app functions as a price checker if you open the app when inside any Target location.
Can you price match items that are out of stock?
No. An item must be in stock to qualify for a price match or adjustment.
