With growing competition, retail stores are trying to stay competitive for Black Friday 2012 by price matching internet products. Big box retail stores like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Toys R’ Us have implemented price matching policies as an incentive to close the sale in the store rather than go home and find the same product online for a little less expensive.

Unfortunately the details of Best Buy’s policy are a little less attractive, especially when it comes to Black Friday. The online price matching policy will not be in effect from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. In addition, Best Buy will only match online prices on appliances and electronics hardware – and at the discretion of the Best Buy sales staff on the floor. There will only be 20 online retailers they will match, including Amazon.

Target unveiled its new price matching guarantee which may be more appealing to shoppers. Their holiday initiatives include the ability to match select online competitors’ prices in stores between November 1st and December 16th. This means that if a shopper purchases a qualifying item from Target stores, and then finds it for less at Target.com, amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, Toysrus.com or other local competitor’s printed ads, they will refund you the difference.

Toys R Us is increasing its efforts on their aggressive holiday strategy by promising to match competitors' prices, with a few key exceptions. This deal will extend to include seven days after the purchase – unlike Target, which extends theirs through December 16th. Toys R’ Us, Wal-Mart and Target are usually very close on their pricing for the top toys, so Toys R’ Us is using this opportunity to make a statement to the consumer that their pricing will be just as good if not lower than their rivals.

Wal-Mart has a similar plan for their price matching policy with the added convenience of being able to take a competitor’s ad straight to the register for the mark down. The only minor exceptions to Wal-Mart’s’ “NO HASSLE” policy is that they do not match buy one get one (BOGO) sales or percent off sales (unless the price is clearly listed).

Competition from online merchants and other discount stores is expected to be fierce during the crucial holiday season. This is usually when retailers make up about 40 percent of its annual revenue. Shoppers who were lined up for hours at the gates of retail stores last year can sleep in, and let the deals find them for a change.