Wal-Mart stores are matching Amazon’s prizes ahead of Black Friday

With Black Friday just a couple of weeks away and the holiday season just around the corner, retailers are rushing to prepare for the massive influx of shoppers that will be hitting their stores soon, and competition between retailers is starting to heat up.

In response to this, managers of the roughly 5,000 Wal-Mart stores across the United States have been ordered to match prices with Amazon and other online retailers, according to Reuters. Greg Foran, the chief executive of Wal-Mart stores in the United States, claims that this was already the case in many of the American retailing giant’s stores.

“Being the price leader is an ongoing priority for us and a commitment to our business,” said Doug McMillon, who took over as CEO of WalMart in February, as quoted by Daily Finance. “And with every year, that is even more important during the holiday season. We need to continue to improve the customer experience, both in our stores and online, to deliver stronger sales growth and strength our bottom line performance.”

This aggressive pricing will not only help Wal-Mart better compete with other retailers, it might help curb showrooming, which is where a consumer browses products at a brick-and-mortar store, but purchases those products online for a lower price. Sometimes consumers will even compare prices in-store using their phone, and even make the purchase there.