Walmart receives criticism for price tag scam.
Eagle-eyed shoppers are shunning an international retailer amid claims the virus is secretly gouging the cost of “cleaning” items, tricking customers into paying more for products believed to be on sale.
“Check your local Walmart because we’re getting ripped off,” urged TikTok user Austin Adams while perusing the home goods section of his local store. “We are being robbed blindly.”
Capturing video receipts of the suspected fraud, Adams pulled back the yellow eraser tag for a 16-foot Hyper Tough extension cord valued at $16.48. Peering behind the label, he revealed the actual cost of the equipment, $15.88.
Adams found the same fake name on a different stretch cord, marked with a sticker price of $23.92, originally $22.97.
“Walmart is defiling us,” he captioned the video, warning his nearly 150,000 TikTok followers of what he thought was being done.
Details related to the store in question are not yet known.
Walmart representatives declined The Post’s request for comment.
But the big-box shop is not used to being scolded.
From being named for holiday shopping scams to being accused of price gouging due to an inflationary crisis, Walmart has repeatedly been in the social media hot seat in recent years.
And now, after the latest cost-cutting claims, angry internet critics are fanning the flames.
“Boycott Walmart,” shouted an angry spokesperson, calling for a mass protest.
“Everybody [price] gouging,” exclaimed an equally annoyed customer.
“Nothing new from Wally World,” muttered another.
During this attack, a supposed Walmart employee stepped in to protect the angry mob.
“Join Walmart here. Check the date the label was printed on. It’s always under the last 4 [digits] of the barcode,” wrote an anonymous employee. “If you see a lot of labels, look at what was printed recently – make sure, it’s not as much of a scam as you think.”
“Some stores don’t do price checks like they should, which is why a lot of stores are moving to digital tags now,” said the insider, referring to the new digital shelf label (DSL) technology that began rolling out in 2,300 US Walmart locations in March.
“The home office changes prices that far,” the commenter continued of DSLs, which the company expects to roll out within the next year.
Whistleblowers at Walmart, however, are already crying foul about the new features.
“[These] electronic price tags can change prices in increments,” said the organizer, known as @SupAmerica, in the trending clip. “These prices can change in a second and they change throughout the day.”
“These prices will go up three to five cents, depending on the time of day,” he said, referring to the cost of packets of meat seasoning. “And they will go up when more people are here to shop, and they will go down when there are fewer people here.”
The content creator did not immediately respond to The Post’s questions about the store’s location, the timing of the alleged price increase and more.
While outraged viewers nearly impaled their misguided rumours, saying the price gouging “should be legal,” Walmart diehards jumped to the rescue under the post.
“I work for Walmart,” said the analyst. “We don’t do price hikes. Absolutely not.”
