This article has been updated with new information since its initial 08/18/22 publish date.
When you think of low prices and incredible deals, Walmart is likely one of the first stores that pops into your head. The corporation is well-known for their practically unbeatable price tags—but back in July, one TikTok user made claims that the store is actually overcharging customers, because those price tags might not keep their promises.
More recently, Supermarket News reported last week that until now, when online Walmart customers were offered a substitute item for an out-of-stock product, the shoppers were automatically charged for the lower-priced item. Soon, if the recommended substitute costs more, Walmart customers will have to pay the higher price, according to a leaked internal memo sent to Walmart store managers last Friday, as reported by Business Insider. “Moving forward, customers will now pay the list price for specific substitution items made on their order,” the memo obtained by Business Insider states. “Customers and members will receive updates about this change in the Walmart app at various points in their shopping experience.”
In Walmart, you’ll see “everyday low price” plastered everywhere pic.twitter.com/5lcUl9OUOe
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) August 15, 2022
According to the published reports, this new policy will go live in the coming weeks. “As we continue to expand our popular online pickup and delivery service, we’re giving our customers more control of how and when items are substituted, including enhanced preferences and the ability to approve or reject substituted items,” a Walmart spokesperson recently told Best Life. “This flexibility is an important part of how we continue to give our customers more control over their pickup and delivery experience.” Walmart apparently doesn’t expect much of a pushback from customers over their new pricing policy, Business Insider reported. “There will be a bit of a transition period,” the spokesperson told Insider, “but overall, this is pretty common.”
On July 29th, TikTok user @brennasbakery posted a video to the platform warning shoppers about Walmart’s “overcharging” issue. “You guys, Walmart is scamming people, so listen up,” she said. “They’re jacking up their prices. They’re ripping you off. I don’t know how this isn’t a lawsuit yet.” Wait… what?!
@brennasbakery Someone tell me how this makes sense because I can’t make it make sense #Walmart #Inflation #WalmartIncreasingPrices #WalmartScam #checkyourfoodd #CheckYourPrices #FYP #ForYouPage #WalmartIsScammingPeople ♬ original sound – Bren
That certainly is a surprising allegation, considering Walmart’s affordable reputation. But Brenna shared a pretty convincing anecdote in the video, which has since garnered over 50,000 likes. “I was just at Walmart,” she begins, explaining that she stopped by the store for some items to make a cake. She then goes on to say that she had previously checked the price of Wilton chocolates on Walmart’s website and saw that they were priced at $2.62, and found the same price listed on shelves. (Not bad!) However, the issue arose when Brenna arrived at the store and went to check out.
“I went to ring them up but they were ringing up for $4 dollars each,” she stated. Okay, that’s definitely a little fishy. Luckily, once Brenna pointed the issue out to the cashier, she adjusted the price accordingly. However, the shopper claims that five other items rang up as higher than their listed price. Yikes! (Sounds like the store is definitely trying to pull the wool over shoppers’ eyes.) “I understand inflation is making a lot of prices go up,” Brenna reasoned. “But if the price is also indicating something online, you can buy it for that price online, and it’s that price in the aisle, they’re scamming you. They’re purposefully marking up prices because most people are not gonna check that when they’re checking out.”
According to Walmart shopping experts at Tip Hero, the US Sun reports, there is a helpful hack customers can use to find out if you are indeed getting a good deal at the store (or not). "There’s a hidden markdown language used by popular retailers to communicate to employees what items are being discounted," the experts explained. They went on, adding, "Pricing doesn’t always follow this format as retailers are constantly testing new prices."
When customers look at the very last digit of a price, they can see the reduction amount, and Tip Hero reported that prices ending in '7c' amounts indicate the original retail value. For example, if you see an item priced at $9.97 in Walmart, the experts stress that the product you are looking was likely just placed on the shelf. When products become discounted at the department store, Tip Hero experts say the first markdown will end in '5c' amounts.
A product that is $9.95, The Sun notes, is likely to have been marked down once, and for the final markdown, "products will be priced at an amount ending in '1c.'" If an item is $9.91, the outlet adds, then it is a "safe bet that product is due for clearance."
While the July scandal may have been shocking to some consumers, it wasn't exactly fresh news. In fact, The Charlotte Observer reported that five Walmart stores near Charlotte, North Carolina were fined by the state for overcharging due to price scanning errors.
These fines are the result of inspections carried out by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Standards Division, in which they compare list prices to the price that comes up when items are scanned. They discovered that these Walmart stores were overcharging between 4 and 12 percent on multiple items at the register.
This also isn't the first time the store has been in legal trouble. Just last month, they faced a lawsuit over coffee trademark issues, and another due to the fact that they allegedly allowed fraudsters to take advantage of customers.
If you want to avoid overcharging at Walmart, make sure to pay careful attention while your items are scanned, and double check your receipt to ensure the prices you were charged match the prices that were listed. Or, of course, you can always choose to shop at a different store where you won't be blindsided at checkout.
