A woman went online to purchase a bottle of Welch’s jelly. Then she realized it was $2 to $3 higher than what she normally pays for it.
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Brittney Schober (@brittneyschober), a travel influencer and TikToker, posted a video that received more than 199,000 views. In it, she explained why she may never shop at Walmart again. According to her, the Walmart app listed Welch’s jelly for a significantly higher price online when compared to the in-store counterpart.
Viewers said they’ve noticed similar trends across grocery stores such as Aldi and Costco.
Why Was It More Expensive On The Walmart App?
Schober was placing an online grocery order. Then she noticed that the price for Welch’s jelly was off. The TikToker saw that the condiment was $6.43, but she recalled seeing the product in-store for $3.50 or $4.
At first, she thought that the price increased because she had purchased the product a number of times, which could occur because of dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is “a strategy that bases products or services’ prices on evolving market trends,” according to Harvard Business School. Prices can increase or decrease depending on a number of factors in a dynamic pricing model.
However, when Schober asked some of the women she works with to check the price, they saw the same price she did.
She happened to get off work slightly earlier that day, so she went to Walmart. There she saw that the Welch’s jelly she was looking at online was on clearance. Its price? $2.
“So if I were to put that jelly in my cart on the app, it’s $6.43, but in the store it’s $2. We’re being scammed, we’re being robbed,” Schober said.
In a second video, she examined a price difference where a product she purchased online was significantly cheaper than it was in-person. Schober and her husband purchased a watch battery for 74 cents, which they later weren’t able to find. When Schober went in person to purchase a replacement, it cost $7.98.
What’s Happening Here?
Walmart app users have noticed changing prices between in-person shopping experiences and purchases from the app. Some sources claim that these hese price differences may result from a form of dynamic pricing.
The Cooking Facts, a cooking related blog, said that “Several factors contribute to the price differences between the Walmart app, website, and physical stores,” including “The location of the customer… The time of day, day of the week, or season [and] The customer’s shopping history and behavior.”
The publication also said that Walmart uses data analytics, which can impact how customers see prices. The price of Welch’s jelly appeared to be consistent across individual app users in Schober’s experience, but the publication noted that there are other reasons why prices may fluctuate.
Previously, Walmart has denied using any form of dynamic pricing, even as it introduced Electronic shelf labels (ESLs). The company has made no recent statements saying that its begun implementing a dynamic pricing model.
@brittneyschober Is the Walmart app a scam? #walmart ♬ original sound – BRITTNEY|TRAVEL|MOM|ADHD|REAL
How Did Commenters React?
Viewers shared similar experiences they had while shopping at Walmart. Some commenters reflected that prices have generally increased, making it difficult to purchase groceries. Others simply noted strange price differences they saw while shopping.
“walmart has become actually insane with pricing,” one viewer said. “i used to get a 5lb bag of honey crisp apples for 3.50. that same bag now (marketside brand mind you) is almost 9 DOLLARS! one singular red bell pepper was 2.80 yesterday.”
Another commenter said they have found different prices for the same products while shopping in Walmart. Viewers also had similar stories regarding entirely different companies.
One person, who said they were trying to save money by shopping online, added, “when I used to place pickup orders at Aldi, the prices of the items online were a good bit higher than they were in store. I didn’t realize until I had been placing pickup orders for over a year. I always thought they had a really great pickup option because the pickup fee was only $1.99 or $2.99 depending on how much you spent.”
“I wanted to buy a fan from Costco. On the app, it was $39.99 on sale. Instacart that is listed on Costcos website was $30.99. Thought it was odd. Went to the store…it was $26.99,” another viewer said.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Schober via email and Walmart via press form for more information.
