Walmart has a new app called Savings Catcher. The idea is Walmart will do ALL the price matching for you. No more searching through grocery ads and price-matching it all yourself at the register. Sounds too good to be true, so we decided to check this out. We bought a variety of different advertised items and heaven forbid paid full price at the register. What I love about the app is you don’t need to take a photo of your receipt, just scan the QR Code or enter the number at the bottom of your receipt. Super simple. You will need to download the app and create a Walmart account.

Here's How it Works:

Submit your receipt to Savings Catcher in any one of two ways:

1. Enter the receipt number (the TC number) into Savings Catcher HERE. You'll find this number located near the bottom of your printed Walmart store receipt. OR, scan the code at the bottom of your receipt using the scanner in the Savings Catcher section of the Walmart app.
2. Savings Catcher compares the prices of the eligible items you bought at Walmart to the advertised prices found in the print and online versions of the weekly ads of top retailers in your area. The ads must be valid at the time you made your Walmart purchase.
3. If Savings Catcher finds an advertised price that is lower than what you paid for the same exact item at Walmart then you'll get back the difference on a Walmart Rewards eGift Card. You can submit up to 7 receipts a week and it takes 2-3 days to receive your credit. There is a maximum limit of $599.99 reward dollars per calendar year.

What will Walmart price match?

Savings Catcher applies to many items sold at Walmart stores. This includes:

• Most groceries such as cereal, crackers and most fruits and vegetables EXCEPT for: store brand items, deli, bakery and weighed items like meat.
• Consumable items such as Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Trash Bags etc.
• Health and Beauty items such as Shampoo, Soap, Makeup etc.

What won't Walmart price match?

Savings Catcher DOES NOT currently apply to:

• Store Brand items, Deli, Bakery and weighed item like meat.
• Items that require a separate purchase to get an advertised price (buy cereal get milk for $2.00)
• Item with no actual price (buy cereal get milk for FREE)
• Items that require a purchase to get a gift card (buy 5 cereal get a $5 gift card)
• But one get one FREE sales, going out of business or closeout prices and percentage sales (40% off CoverGirl).
• General merchandise items, including, but not limited to electronics, media and gaming, toys, sporting goods, housewares, small appliances, home decor, bedding, books and magazines, apparel and shoes, jewelry, furniture, office supplies and seasonal products.
• Non-branded items.
• Tobacco, firearms, gasoline, tires, prescription drugs, optical and photo products and services, or products that require a service agreement such as wireless, automotive or financial products.

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Our Test Results

We tested Savings Catcher with deals that were advertised in local store ads. Most of these stores are within a 5 mile radius of the Walmart chosen, including: Smith's, Target, Maceys, Harmons, Reams, Sprouts Market and Rancho Market. Here's what we bought:

Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat – $1.99 at Smith's after eCoupon
1 Cool Whip Topping – 10/$10 at Smith's
2 Strawberries – $1.50 at Smith's
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish – $1.25 at Smith's
3 Del Monte Fruit Cups – 3/$5 at Harmons
10 Yoplait Yogurt Cups – 10/$4 at Maceys
Watermelon – $2.98 each at Sprouts
2 Meadow Gold Butter – 2/$5 at Harmons
2 Milk Gallon – $2.50 at Smith's, Harmons and Reams
Red Grapes – $0.99/lb at Reams OR $1.88/lb at Smith's
2 Yoplit Go-Gurt – 2/$3 at Target

The total at Walmart WITHOUT price matching was $49.15. If I had price matched on my own I would have paid $34.59. A difference of about $15.

As soon as I got out to my car, I opened up the app on my phone and scanned the QR Code located at the bottom of my receipt. The app told me it would take up to 72 hours for them to compare what I bought to lower advertised prices. Exactly 4 days or 96 hours later I received a notification that the price matching was done.

When I opened up the app I was told I had gotten back $4.68 after all their price-matching. I was quite disappointed considering I could have saved over $10 more by price-matching on my own. Here's the breakdown of what the app price-matched:

Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat – $1.99 at Smith's
Cool Whip – $1.00 at Smith's
Strawberries – $1.50 at Smith's
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish – $1.25 at Smith's
Red Grapes – $1.88/lb at Smith's
Yoplait Go-Gurt – $1.50 at Target

I was disappointed that it didn't price match a majority of the stores. It seems to be only price matching the big chain stores. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had price matched the Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat at Smith's for $1.99 considering it was advertised as $2.99 before the eCoupon savings ($2.99 – $1.00 Smith's eCoupon = $1.99). I had read that it wasn't working on Mega Event items and wanted to see how it would behave with the eCoupon Savings Deals. The app was also sophisticated enough to catch the 10/$10 sale on the Cool Whip Topping at Smith's.

The app may not have price matched the smaller chain stores, but it was 100% accurate with the price matches advertised in Smith's and Target stores ads (minus the milk at 2/$5) but then again, it clearly states they will not price match store brands.

In conclusion, this app is great for Walmart shoppers, especially those that don't want to price match or use coupons. Is it as good as going to the store that is actually running the sale? The answer is no, probably not. But, it is VERY simple to use and the additional money savings for those who already shop regularly at Walmart will be a nice unexpected surprise.