Publix called out Wal-Mart by name two months ago, employing billboards, store posters and newspaper circulars to proclaim the nation’s largest retailer and supermarket moonlighter “doesn’t always have the lowest price.”
Now, the empire is striking back.
Wal-Mart recently filmed a television ad at its Abercorn store featuring Savannah mom Liz Ambos. The commercial, in which Ambos supposedly saves 13 percent in a “price challenge,” airs later this month and underscores Wal-Mart’s “dedication to low prices,” according to a company spokeswoman.
“We know competitors don’t like it when we tell them to compare prices and see for themselves,” Wal-Mart’s Molly Philhours said. “Our customers deserve the opportunity to see value.”
The TV commercial is part of an escalating smackdown between two popular groceries in Savannah. Publix operates six supermarkets in the area while five Wal-Marts in Chatham and Effingham counties include groceries.
Wal-Mart instigated the situation last spring, rolling out a price-comparison ad campaign in an effort to erode market share in Publix strongholds such as Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Wal-Mart launched similar campaigns against other regional supermarket giants across the country and has seen a 1 percent increase in market shares in areas where the ads air, according to Philhours.
Local numbers were not available.
Publix stuck to its traditional “where shopping is a pleasure” marketing strategy in 2012. The store launched its own cost-comparison campaign — calling out Wal-Mart directly — on March 7.
The anti-Wal-Mart ads reflect Publix’s “stance that meeting customers’ high expectations doesn’t have to mean higher prices,” according to Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens.
“We want our loyal and potential customers to know that we offer more than clean stores, quality products and friendly service,” Stevens said. “We offer great values that benefit the needs of individuals and their families.”
The ad campaigns have done little to help consumers decipher the values, however. The stores haven’t altered their approaches to grocery selling: Publix is still driven by sales and buy-one-get-one deals — or BOGOs in Publix parlance — while Wal-Mart uses everyday pricing and ad matching.
And the cost-comparisons touted in ads by both Publix and Wal-Mart are on specific items and rarely include meats or produce. The value leader varies by the day and the shopping list, according to Savannah consumer advice expert Michelle Rubrecht, whose "Savvy Shopper" column runs in the Sunday Savannah Morning News.
"No store has the best price on everything," Rubrecht said. "Shoppers can score the best deal by taking the time to review the weekly grocery ads and shopping for those loss leaders and matching them up with coupons from the Sunday paper."