Target is apparently being forced to respond to the deflationary supernova that is this guy…

Because just a little over a week after Amazon made good on its promise/threat to cut prices at Whole Foods, Target says in a blog post that it’s lowering prices on thousands of items.

• TARGET SAYS IT’S LOWERED PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF ITEMS: BLOG POST

And the reaction was immediate, with shares diving to day lows and Wal-Mart falling in sympathy:

The shares will probably rebound by the end of the day, but the message here is clear.

Notably, this made an already bad day for Kroger worse. The shares were already lower by some 7% after inline results were apparently overshadowed by talk of consolidation and news the company will not be providing longer-term guidance.

Sorry Fed, it looks like structural deflation has become… well… structural.