retail

BBB Takes Slap At Wal-Mart's $700 Claim

WalmartThe Council of Better Business Bureaus wants Wal-Mart Stores to modify some of its advertising claims, and stop telling consumers that they can save $700 a year by shopping at its stores.

BBB's National Advertising Division, which had been investigating Wal-Mart's claims following a complaint from a competing Texas retailer, says that while Wal-Mart has provided reasonable support for its "Unbeatable Prices" claims, there's still potential for confusing shoppers.

H-E-B Grocery Company, which runs 300 H-E-B stores in Texas and Mexico, as well as eight Central Market stores, specifically challenged the Wal-Mart ads on its "unbeatable prices" claim. It noted that Wal-Mart does not honor ads, for example, that require a purchase in order to receive the advertised price or free product, "Buy One/Get One Free" advertisements, double or triple coupons or percent off advertisements, "misprinted" advertised prices, Internet prices or price matches based on other methods of proof, including sales receipts.

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It also challenged the company's specific savings claims of $700 a year. "Let's say you spend $100 a week at the supermarket on these kinds of items," says the voiceover in the TV spot, while a disclosure at the bottom of the screen reads: "Excludes fresh meat and produce" and later: "Local savings vary." The voiceover then states: "If you bought these kinds of groceries at Wal-Mart, you could save on average over $700 a year."

As for Wal-Mart, a spokesperson says: "We are pleased the NAD determined that our "Unbeatable Prices" claims are substantiated by our price-matching program. But we disagree with the NAD's determination regarding our $700 grocery savings claim."

While acknowledging that all price-matching programs have terms and limitations that may not reasonably be expected to be disclosed in a TV spot, the NAD did recommend that Wal-Mart "make its disclosures substantially more clear and conspicuous in its printed and broadcast advertising and on its in-store signage." It also recommended that it ditch the "$700 annual savings" claim entirely. "The use of the phrase "on average" does not temper the overriding message that the viewer -- wherever located -- can expect to obtain these savings," the watchdog group says in its release.

"We're not currently running those spots," says the Wal-Mart spokesperson, adding that there are no plans to run the spots again. "But we still firmly believe the claim is well-supported."

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