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Profitero+ released its ninth annual Price Wars study, analyzing online prices for more than 10,000 products across 23 leading U.S. retailers. For the ninth consecutive year, Amazon ranked as the lowest-priced retailer, maintaining a 14% average price advantage versus competitors.
However, the competition is intensifying. Walmart narrowed its average price gap with Amazon from 5% to 4% year over year, posting improvements across 10 of 15 categories1. The most notable gains came in video games, where Walmart reduced its price difference versus Amazon from 12% to just 3% — a 9 percentage points improvement in one of the season’s most competitive categories.
Target held steady with prices averaging 13% higher than Amazon’s — matching last year’s performance and marking an improvement from 2022, when Target’s online prices trailed Amazon by 16% across all categories studied. Yet the retailer ceded ground in key categories such as fashion and vitamins & supplements, where price gaps widened by 5 percentage points each.
Drugstore chains continued to trail far behind Amazon on price competitiveness. CVS and Walgreens were 63% and 66% more expensive, respectively, in vitamins & supplements, and 52% and 48% more expensive in health & personal care—extending a multi-year trend of widening gaps in everyday health categories.
Chewy Still Snapping at Amazon’s Heels
Chewy remains Amazon’s closest category challenger, with prices averaging just 1% higher, reinforcing its position as a leader in pet supplies.
GameStop Levels Up in Video Games
Echoing Walmart’s progress, GameStop narrowed its price gap with Amazon by 8 percentage points (from 20% to 12%)—one of the most significant year-over-year gains in the study.
The Beauty Battle Gets Fiercer
Amazon’s price advantage in beauty narrowed slightly to 20 percentage points cheaper on average (from 21% last year), driven by modest improvements from CVS (improved by 5 percentage points) and Walgreens (improved by 3 percentage points). Ulta, however, moved in the opposite direction, with its price gap widening sharply from 20% to 31% higher than Amazon.
Amazon Plays to Win in Toys & Games
Amazon strengthened its lead in Toys & Games, expanding its average price advantage from 10% to 13%. The gap widened across most retailers, most notably at Macy’s, which rose from 26% to 31% more expensive than Amazon on comparable items.
“As tariff fears rise, shoppers are watching prices like hawks,” said Mike Black, Chief Growth Officer of Profitero+. “Consumers will reward the retailers who keep prices competitive and make value easy to see — and punish those who don’t.”
Download a copy of this report to understand where shoppers expect to find the best deals ahead of the holiday season, which categories are the most competitive, and which retailers have earned the highest low price reliability.
NOTES
Only identical items available and in-stock in the same pack configuration were compared. Data was collected daily over 12 weeks (July 7 - Sep 29, 2025), with daily prices averaged over the full period for comparison. Prices for the same items were collected within 24 hours of each other to ensure validity of the comparisons. To refer to past Profitero+ Price Wars studies, please go to profitero.com/resources.
Retailers featured in the study included: Amazon, Albeebaby, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Chewy, CVS, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gamestop, GNC, iHerb, The Home Depot, Kohls, Lowes, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Petco, PetSmart, Sephora, Target, Ulta, Walgreens, Walmart, Wayfair
1 Based on data rounded to whole percentages.
