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‘I almost walked out yesterday’: Target worker shows the real reason why the app says your product is in stock—but it’s not on the shelf

‘I’m so not ready for the holiday.’

Photo of Brooke Sjoberg

Brooke Sjoberg

Target Store Worker(l) Target Store Front(c) Target Back Room(r)

Backlogged stock and shorthanded grocery stores make for a poor combination of circumstances during the holidays. This is especially true when retail workers must frequently restock high-demand items to meet customers’ needs.

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In a video posted to TikTok, one user shows why shoppers might be receiving mixed messages from their Target app and the status of the shelves on the store floor.

A room of boxes

Having garnered over 92,000 views on TikTok, user @natedawg__15 shows what the stock room of the Target he was delivering merchandise to looks like around the “holiday months.” The video shows boxes piled high as the poster describes what he is seeing.

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“Like, just look at all this crap,” the TikToker says off-camera. “Oh my gosh. This is Target.”

He adds in the caption, “I unload the truck and boxes be everywhere.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to @natedawg__15 via TikTok comment and to Target via email regarding the video.

@natedawg__15 I unload the truck and boxes just be everywhere.#target #targetemployee #target #stocker #targetstocker#targettok #targetstore ♬ original sound – natedawg__15
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Are empty shelves normal at Target?

Seeing a video of boxes stacked high might cause a customer to wonder what the shelves look like if so much of the merchandise is still boxed up.

Some shoppers might notice that shelves at Target are in a bit of a state of flux. Recent hurricanes and bad weather across the country have disrupted supply chains in most places, and might just be starting to return to normal. However, that’s likely to impact just about every grocery store, not just Target.

When does Target restock its shelves?

Like many big box retail stores, Target is reported to stock shelves multiple times a week, so that quick run-in trip might look a little different day to day.

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Viewers weigh in

Some viewers who work in retail stores stocking shelves commented on the video that the level of packed up stock shown in the video is a living nightmare for them as they head into their own workplace’s holiday season.

“Guests be like ‘it says you have 4 of these’ and i sigh like i’m sure we do,” one commenter wrote. “Buried in the pallets sitting around from a week ago.”

“Literally makes me wanna cry everytime I go to work,” another said.

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“Us at Marshall’s n hmgs we sometimes get like 11 pallets of inventory,” one said.

Others shared that some stores look like this in the back far beyond the holiday season.

“When I worked there after seasonal it didn’t get cleaned till like March,” one commenter wrote.

“Ours has looked like that for the past few months actually it’s awful,” another echoed. 

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“Corporate america,” a commenter wrote. “Backroom is perfect when they have their walk. But the rest of the year, they don’t care about respecting rules.”


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