In many aspects, Walmart is the least expensive place to get groceries and other goods. However, sometimes shopping sales with coupons at other stores is actually cheaper. The way to get the best deals is to learn how to use coupons for Walmart. Using these 7 ways to use coupons for Walmart you can usually have the least expensive one-stop shopping experience available.
1. Use manufacturer coupons – Walmart accepts manufacturer coupons that scan without trouble. Sometimes coupons (no matter how valid they are) refuse to scan. If the coupon does not scan, Walmart managers have the right to refuse them. If this happens to you and the product that you were about to buy with the coupon isn’t vital, ask them to remove the product from your cart and save on it elsewhere. You can find a huge database of manufacturer coupons here.
2. Price match – Here is a website that shows you all the price match ups for the week in stores near you. You simply select your state>Select all stores> hit the start button>click on the star (dead center on the star) that is above the words Stock Up sales> Select shrink. Now you have all 4 & 5-star items (40-100% off) in your area highlighted.
After looking at the site, write down the items you’d like to buy and price match them at Walmart. You can also print the list off (although I found this takes a lot of ink and paper). Make sure to price match produce and major sale items. One really great thing about Walmart and price matching is that often the good deals have sold out at the local grocery stores who are hosting the sale. Yet, they are usually in stock and you can still buy them for the same sale price at Walmart.
*Note about price matching. You can only price match identical items. You can’t price match a cluster item sale like buy 2 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk for $5.99. You can’t price match free items (unless it is buy one get one free and specifies how much the first item is), or items that offer cash back or rewards as the discount like: Buy cereal at $3.50 and receive 2 Up rewards making it $1.50 (you can not price match the cereal to $1.50). To keep it simple I think of it this way. The only items I can price match are identical items that are a single set sale price at a local store.
3. Get cash back by using Ibotta and Checkout51. Ibotta is an awesome app that works for just about any popular grocery store and some retail stores and theaters allow you to earn cash back is called Ibotta. In the first 3 months of using it, I made $77! Ibotta is like a mobile coupon app/rebate machine. When you buy something being sponsored by Ibotta and the store you bought it at you will earn cash back. At the end of your shopping trip to redeem an item you need to follow a quick process of learning a fact, watching a short clip, or sharing it on Facebook. After that, you simply take a quick photo of your receipt and the product you bought and the cash will be credited to your account. Plus, if you sign up and redeem your first purchase/item you will receive a $2.00 bonus which is a pretty great deal. Click here to sign up for Ibotta.
Use Checkout51 Another free app (also a website if you don’t have a smartphone). It is very similar to Ibotta but it can be used with any store. I’ve tested it and It works great! Plus, unlike Ibotta, it isn’t stored exclusive, which is great for people who live in smaller towns and that don’t shop at big chain grocery stores. You can get cash back on milk, eggs, and other everyday groceries. I use this and Ibotta together as well as a price match it and use a coupon. Using all these methods I save a ton. And I sometimes get items for free! Sign up for Checkout51 here!
4. Buy online and use the free ship to store service. Often (although not always) Walmart beats competitors on their online prices. I like to check the exact same items that I want to buy on Walmart and if it is cheaper I use the ship to store options. Then a few days later (sometimes a week) I will stop in and get my items that were shipped there for FREE.
5. Look for their clearance sections. Last year they had a HUGE clearance section in the summer. One day I was lucky enough to go into Walmart the day they were having a 50% off all clearance tags (which were already 50-80% off). I got all of my Christmas presents for my son, nieces, and nephews for about 20% of the total retail value! Christmas and many birthdays were done for the kids in my family in August.
6. Buy Great Value brand items. If you can’t price match or have a coupon for a particular item OR if the Great Value item is less, opt for that. Being brand loyal will cost you in the long run. Try in most all cases to stick with the cheapest (unless there are unhealthy ingredients in the cheaper version) and you will save.
Walmart Coupon Policy
The Walmart Coupon Policy can be a bit confusing for even the most seasoned Walmart shopper. To maximize your savings at Walmart, make sure to read and study Walmart Coupon Policy.
Tips and Warnings: Often Walmart is not consistent in the inventory they carry and what other stores in other states or even communities carry. It is a bit of a frustration to read about an awesome deal going on at Walmart and drive there only to find that it was never at my local store. Calling them is difficult too. I’ve tried calling and never quite gotten through in an efficient manner.
If I did get through it usually meant waiting on hold for a minimum of 10 minutes until the store clerk could go see what I wanted was in stock and come back and answer me. So I recommend being cautious about trips to Walmart if you are only going for one item. Also, don’t get your heart set on them carrying an item at a great deal. Most other stores i.e. Target, Kroger, etc. I can rely on. Walmart I have just learned to take it all with a grain of salt. I consider myself lucky if the item that has a great coupon on it is actually there.
Walmart lost millions last year to fraudulent coupons. They are really cracking down on them. I think they have scared the cashiers’ silly about accepting coupons that don’t scan. So just kindly ask for a manager if your cashier is sweating bullets about a coupon that won’t go through. If the manager says no, just let it be.
Overall, Walmart is a great place for a one-stop shop. Many moms with kids have a hard enough time just getting to the store and shopping. Going to multiple stores to get great deals is often unrealistic. I recommend shopping at Walmart using these techniques if you are in that boat. You will save considerably by price matching, using the coupon match up sites, getting cash back through iBotta and Checkout51, and using the site to store free shipping methods. Also, ask your manager if and when they will be having their huge toy sale on clearance prices day so you can stock up for birthday and Christmas presents.
New at Couponing? Check out this post: Couponing for Beginners: 11 Tips That Will Save You Thousands.
Are you a couponing Pro? Check out this post: 17 Mistakes Couponers Make and How to Avoid them.
Here is a link to how to coupon at Target.
How to coupon at Kroger aka Smith’s, Ralph’s, Fry’s etc,
How to coupon at Walmart,
How to coupon at Walgreens,
How to coupon at CVS.
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I’ve been so frustrated trying to use what few coupons I print from coupons.com at Walmart that I do not even bother trying any more. It’s been such a waste of time for nothing. I’ve have a page with 3 coupons I printed out. One of them being equate brand item, which is Walmart’s generic brand, that coupon will scan but the other 2 coupons on the same page will not scan! I’ve had a manager come over and just say if it does not scan we can not take it. So I no longer shop there when I have coupons- I’ll go to Target, they have never not scanned my coupons. Plus I can often double stack coupons and get cartwheel discount on top of it!
Barb- Yes Walmart can be frustrating! I got pretty mad once or twice too. Overall, when I decide to go there or not I’ll see how many price matches I have vs. coupons. Price matching is the main reason why I shop there. Newspaper coupons scan much more successfully there as well. I’m glad you have a Target nearby. Many people are stuck with shopping at Walmart (and sometimes it’s actually cheapest despite their coupon run around). Thanks for the comment, its nice to hear your feedback.
I thought WALMART takes two coupons per product its a lie tell if its a lie
Lupe it really depends on what you are meaning. Almost every single manufacturer coupon I have ever seen says one coupon per purchase. That means you can only use 1 coupon on 1 item. If you find a Walmart coupon that says ‘Walmart coupon not a manufacturer coupon’ you could try to use 2 coupons for 1 item, but I have rarely… if ever seen a coupon that is a Walmart coupon and not a manufacturer coupon. Best of luck!
This has been so helpful!! I thought I knew quite a bit about couponing but I learned a lot from this post! I have downloaded the Favado and Checkout 51 Apps. Thank you for this info!
I’m brand new to couponing, and to be honest I’m getting extremely overwhelmed. I haven’t tried using any at Walmart yet. When it comes to price matching, will they price match any online retailer, or just Amazon?
Matching amazon.com may be a store-specific thing, because I work at Walmart and we don’t price match ANY online pricing, period. Not even walmart.com
while Walmart can be rough to coupon at, I find having a copy of their policy handy always a helpful tool. Now that they except competor BOGO offers, I always make sure that I have the current flyers with me, and have everything set up so i can go down the list with the cashier. Organization is the key there. I have had people comment in line behind me, how they though it was going to be a long wait, but realistically it was not much longer than if I had no coupons at all. Than the people behind me are impressed and ask about how they can learn to coupon too.
I use favado, but the tip ae great. I am always looking to save a buck. thanks
I am not a coupon fanatic yet but I do love to use coupons at Walmart= and would love to know the different methods of using them more. It is just my husband and I so I usually just find coupons that we can use. My savings average somewhere between 10 and 20 dollars each time we shop there so I am pleased. Thank you for the tips, I will certainly use them to expand my knowledge of coupon-ing.
j gentry- That is great to hear. By saving 10-20 each shopping trip you end up saving hundreds each year which is really awesome! Thanks for the comment.
Wow these are great tips, I did not know about the two apps and will be downloading them. Also I have always hesitated to use the price match because I thought the store would balk. In my area the employees at Walmart are really rude and don’t bother to hide it.
Karen- In my experience, even with rather rude employees (which is somewhat standard for Walmart) price matching is very easy for them to do so they do it without hesitancy (the majority of the time). I’ve noticed they prefer to price match over being handed coupons :). But I still use both, don’t be intimidated by their rudeness. They have a job because of the costumers.
That price match website is really cool!
Debbie- I’m so glad you like it 🙂
I was wonderingif you know how many like item coupons they accept. I work at Kroger and we only accept 3 coupons per like item. But since we are stopping doubling I’m trying to decide which way would be betger for us to coupon and save money.
Maria- Walmart does not have a limited number. They only allow one coupon per item but there is no limit on how many like coupons they accept (although a lot of coupons have restrictions on their instructions). According to the Smith’s/Kroger policy here I’m fairly sure that the limit is 5 coupons per like item at Smith’s. I encourage others to check before they go shopping in their area to be sure. Thanks for the question.
So if I have a coupon for an item from the sunday paper and I have the exact same one I printed I can use the 2 coupons for the 1 item? Please help me clear this up. Im new to couponing however I did sav $6 on my very first try the other day at walmart. I used all sunday paper coupons so im nervous to use the ones I printed out I just hope they scan.
Shea- You can only use one coupon for one item (unless it is a store coupon, like a Target coupon, then you can combine the Target and the manufacturer coupons and use two on the same item).Great job saving at Walmart! Once you feel more comfortable, those savings will only increase!
So we can use other store coupons at Walmart, I am new to couponing and it is very confusing I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to shop at walmart with coupons.
Following these steps will help! Good luck!
I am new to couponing and a new mom. I get the rebate checks for my son’s formula. Can I combine a rebate check with a manufacturer coupon on 1 formula?
Yes rebate checks count as a check. Some cashiers may give you trouble but they are supposed to be able to be used together as one is a coupon and one a form of payment.
WalMart is now matching BOGO from other stores in the Atlanta area
Thank you for letting us know! Great tip.
Can I use my digital coupons on my kroger plus card
you can at Kroger but not at walmart. Sorry
i found another 1 that is savingstar.com its an app or u can do it online!