Target is living up to the second half of its “Expect more. Pay less.” slogan by winning the latest round in its pricing battle with Walmart stores.

Target this month had lower prices than Walmart for the first time since October, according to research conducted by Bloomberg Industries. The Minneapolis-based chain also led by its widest margin since the monthly study began two years ago. The study examined the gap in average price across a basket of 150 like items at stores within five miles of each other.

The discounters are fighting for customers who are still dealing with high unemployment and slow wage growth. The chains also are facing more competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com, which offers free shipping and is adding distribution centers to speed up delivery time.

Consumers who shop at discount chains “are trying to stretch their budgetary dollars as much as possible,” said Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst for Bloomberg Industries. “They will be driven to whatever store offers the better value.”

The second-largest U.S. discounter won this month by cutting into Walmart’s lead in food prices. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart’s advantage in groceries fell to 1.35 percentage points from 4.5 percentage points in July. Target’s improvement in food may have come because of more promotions tied to back-to-school shopping, Bartashus said.

Walmart also lost ground on food prices to Bottom Dollar, a grocery store chain owned by Delhaize Group, according to a separate Bloomberg Industries study released Aug. 20. The discounters study showed that prices at Target were 0.46 percentage point cheaper than Walmart this month.