The Shrewd Way Walmart May Be Overcharging You
At a time when consumers budgets are tightest, news has arisen that suggests Walmart may be overcharging people.
This article is more than 2 years old
Inflation has caused the prices of everything to go up. This is especially true for consumer goods. However, at Walmart, you may be paying more than you have to and not even know it, despite inflation’s overarching presence. A TikTok user, whose video went viral, took to the platform to chronicle her experience at Walmart after she noticed that the prices for some of the items she purchased were scanning for higher amounts at the register than they were listed for in the aisle. Take a look at the video that allegedly exposes Walmart below.
The TikTok-er, who goes by the username @brennasbakery, went into further detail about her experience with the DailyDot. Brenna told the DailyDot that she specifically went to her local Walmart to purchase Wilton chocolate for a cake that she was baking. Thus, she was particularly cognizant of the price. On the shelf, she noticed the item was marked as costing $2.62. However, when the cashier scanned the item at the register it came up as $4. That $1.38 is not a negligible difference.
Brenna said that upon noticing the discrepancy the cashier went ahead and corrected the price. Yet, as the checkout process continued she noticed that the prices for 5 additional items came up as higher at the register than what they were listed for in the aisle. The frequency at which this overcharging occurred is what led Brenna to infer that Walmart is shrewdly price gouging folks on the down-low. This is what prompted her to take to TikTok to make a video to warn other unwitting shoppers. “They’re purposefully marking up prices because most people are not gonna check that when they’re checking out. “They’re ripping you off. I don’t know how this isn’t a lawsuit yet,” said Brenna in her video.
To date, Brenna’s video exposing Walmart’s alleged rip-off tactics has garnered nearly 300,000 views. It has also sparked a flood of comments that reveal Brenna’s experience is in no way unique. Countless people came forward and shared that the same thing had happened to them. “Yeah that happened to me, too,” seemed to characterize the entire list of comments. One commenter even shared that she was overcharged $150 for one item, although they did note that the cashier promptly fixed it. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t shop at Walmart,” said one individual.
Interestingly enough, some local news stations have reported on the issue, too. WSOC-TV, a local news station in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported that several Walmart stores in the area had been caught overcharging people. And in Charlotte, it wasn’t just Walmart that was caught red-handed. Dollar General and Target were also found to have price discrepancies.
In contrast to the overwhelming feeling that Walmart is intentionally overcharging people, some are attributing the fallacies to employee error and/or laziness. “I don’t think it’s ‘ripping people off they’re just not correcting the modules,” suggested one individual who commented on Brenna’s video. “I use to do mods at Walmart and they are supposed to be done when prices or new items are added it’s supposed to happen when they change the mods,” said a purported former employee. Still, regardless of whether what’s happening at Walmart is intentional or not, it’s a concerning issue that is adversely affecting consumers at a time when budgets are tightest.
