For the eighth consecutive year, Amazon had the lowest online prices across 15 categories against 22 leading US retailers, according to an annual Price Wars study by Profitero.
The study revealed that Amazon had an average price advantage of 14% over its rivals, but that competitors closed the gap compared to last year when Amazon had a 16% price advantage.
Walmart continues as Amazon's closest price competitor with only a 5% price difference on identical items, which is slightly less competitive than last year's 4% price gap.
Other key insights from the report include:
- Target showed YoY improvement, with online prices only 13% higher than Amazon's prices, compared to 16% last year.
- Best Buy rose to second place in video games, with prices 9% higher than Amazon, edging out Walmart.
- Chewy remained competitive in pet supplies, with prices just 1% above Amazon.
- Nordstrom tied Walmart at 5% higher than Amazon in fashion.
- Target and Walmart tied in the toys category with a 2% price difference from Amazon.
It feels like the rest of online retailers have adopted the famous Avis Car Rental slogan — “We're Number Two. We Try Harder.”