TikToker Nicole Sciacca (@thenicolesciacca) went viral after stating she felt Kohl’s prices were artificially jacked up.
She calls the store a “scam” and says that the chain’s decision to give customers $5 coupons for dropping off Amazon return packages via its store is part of a ruse to get patrons through its door only to purchase items that they up-charge for.
This isn’t the first time Kohl’s has been accused of “price hike scams” either.
@thenicolesciacca My toxic trait is cutting myself off in my own TikToks. #fyp #foryoupage #kohls #amazon #momsoftiktok #momtok #scam #conspiracytiktok ♬ original sound – Nicole Sciacca
In the clip, Sciacca calls Kohl’s a conspiracy “no one is talking about.”
“‘Oh, return your Amazon packages at Kohl’s, here’s 5 bucks. Try not to spend it on the way out the door,’” she mocks the store.
“Actually, don’t spend it, you guys. I don’t know if you’ve opened your eyes and taken a peek but everything at Kohl’s is priced like this,” she says, pointing her thumb up toward the sky. “However, everywhere you look it’s like 9.99, 30% off a price that it never should have been in the first place. If you like Kohl’s I guess I’ll hear you out, but at this time I think it’s a scam.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sciacca and Kohl’s via email for further comment.
Seeking Alpha has called Kohl’s a “winner” as compared to other American retail chains, writing: “According to our scoring system, Kohl’s Corporation is the clear winner with stable financial conditions, profitability and the best adaptation in crisis.” But do these high marks necessarily translate to the pricing of consumer goods that shoppers find alluring?
It appears that there are several outlets that have criticized Kohl’s prices over the years. Bob Cut Magazine penned a piece with a very blunt title: “Why is Kohl’s so expensive?” and the piece delves into the pricing structure of the popular retail chain. The Cold Wire asked the same question and says the reason Kohl’s costs more than its competitors is that it offers higher quality clothing products that use better raw materials.
This can be compared to reports that other retailers, like Marshall’s and Ross Dress for Less, receive “poor quality items” from clothing companies/manufacturers.
Others believe that there’s some truth to what Sciacca is saying about the “artificial” jacking up of item prices at Kohl’s. A Quora post about whether the retailer sells “overpriced” goods had customers discussing the economics of shopping at Kohl’s.
One user, Rob Robinson wrote: “I can’t speak for their normal policy but a few years ago I went there to buy some underwear that was on sale buy one get one free but the regular marked priced was over twice what it was for the exact same thing at another store, so even with the BOGO I bought two packs at Target cheaper than the one pack at Kohl’s.”
Another user on the platform claimed they used to work at Kohl’s and believes the chain charges too much for its goods.
Many TikTokers who saw Sciacca’s post wrote that they believe the store’s pricing structure is set up in a way to “lure” customers into spending more than they anticipated with the $5 coupon they receive for bringing in Amazon return items.
User @vfw77 said they only purchase a Godiva chocolate and a bottle of water whenever they receive that $5 coupon. Others echoed that sentiment saying that it’s not a bad deal to get paid in snacks whenever you head out of your home to return an item to Amazon.
One user wrote, “Just get the candy or snacks at the register lol. Get paid in snacks to return Amazon packages.”
A TikToker who goes by Dre on the platform said Old Navy is also another retailer that “dupes” customers into thinking that they’re saving money and racking up points.
“Old. Navy. ‘Here’s super cash, but you can’t use it unless you spend this much AND you can’t use it with other promo codes.’ Ya, no thx.,” they wrote.
