Walmart Price Gouging
Today I decided I would visit the local Walmart to buy a Carbon Monoxide Detector for my apartment. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I launched the Walmart app on my phone to search for products “In-Store” so I could see what is available.
I found the one I wanted for about $27 and some change. I head to the store and start toward aisle L14 to find my product. I notice the price on the shelf is $43 and some change! I went ahead and grabbed it and headed to the front to checkout, assuming they would price match. They refused!
It gets better! The worker at self check-out points to my phone and says, “look, it says price when purchased online!” I was aware of that but the issue I had is their refusal to price match. I could order the product through their app and pick it up in the same store in 2 hours for $27. She said, “go head and do that then.”
Why would Walmart put a customer through this kind of inconvenience? Why not just price match the item and save me two hours of my day? I decided to search Google and I found numerous articles about *Walmart price gouging.
A lot of people probably shop through the Walmart app to see what is available in their local store and then go to the store to buy it assuming the price will be the same. They head to the checkout and pay for everything without price checking, and end up paying way more than they should have. I happened to be paying attention because I only went to pick up five small things today and not a cart full of products. Needless to say, I put everything back and took my business to Target across the street.
It’s shady business practice, poor customer service, and a way to pad profits by scamming unsuspecting customers. In fact, there’s a class action lawsuit filed in Ohio again Walmart for discrepancies between online and in-store pricing.
Shame on Walmart!
Reference Articles:
https://bestlifeonline.com/walmart-charging-more-in-stores-lawsuit-news/
https://bestlifeonline.com/walmart-pricing-news/