Does price matching keep consumer prices lower or higher?

Price matching strategy can affect the price both positively or negatively. As a result of this strategy, some sellers lower their prices to retain customer loyalty and save extra costs and resources. However, this strategy can also disincentivize the producers to lower their costs.

If the consumers ask the competitors to match the price, offering a discount will not help. Some researches also show that price matching does not guarantee the lowest price; rather, it gives consumers a false sense of security.