Walmart versus Meijer: Holiday price wars set to begin?

The world's largest retailer is ready to engage Michigan's largest retailer in combat over the lowest holiday prices.

And Meijer appears to be aggressively fighting Walmart back, even as other stores - like Target - take aim to score the consumer's dollar, too.

"(The) bargain-hunting attitude among millions of consumers is fueling a bare-knuckles price war among retailers," according to a recent article in the Grand Rapids Press.

Walmart executive are saying they won't be beaten on price. But Meijer recently jabbed back with ads taking that claim to task.

In Washtenaw County, we might be seeing some fallout soon. The three Meijer stores ringing Ann Arbor now have a second Walmart - with groceries - open near Saline, changing the balance for many shoppers who may not have wanted to travel to the Ypsilanti Township store.

Consumers can hope that "fallout" means lower prices from the competition. Meijer is advertising its new Everyday Best Price program in its newly formatted, smaller ad pages. Walmart brought back its Price Rollback in time for the holidays.

The stakes are different for each store. Walmart has to please shareholders. Meijer, still a private company, doesn't have that burden.

Click here to read more from the Grand Rapids Press story.

And please comment below if you're noticing any local examples of either store taking a lead in the battle.