In a video that has quickly captured the attention of over 425,000 viewers, TikToker Madison (@living.withmadison) sheds light on a curious find at Walmart: a “rollback” deal that is actually more expensive than it was before.
Her video delves into the often murky waters of Black Friday deals. Madison narrates, “I’m at Walmart right now, and I’ve been seeing all the videos of people, like, pulling back the Black Friday deals and being like… There’s no real deals.”
She then reveals a display of cereal with a supposed “rollback” price higher than the original, leaving viewers puzzled about the authenticity of such deals.
“I should have taken it to price check,” she wrote in the caption.
The TikTok community was quick to respond, with many users sharing their skepticism and experiences. One viewer joked, “Rollback inflation style.” Another user noted, “We bought a Keurig for $35 the week before, same one is $49 now on Black Friday sale.” These reactions highlight a growing awareness and wariness among consumers regarding the true nature of Black Friday in-store discounts.
Amidst the criticism, a Walmart employee chimed in, suggesting that the pricing mishap was simply an accident: “Accidents happen. I work at Walmart and they just did it backward.” This comment offers a reminder that not every pricing error is a deliberate attempt to deceive customers.
While Walmart’s pricing gaffe may have been an innocent mistake, it underscores a larger trend in retail. Major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target are known for offering enticing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. However, alongside these genuine discounts, there are often ‘non-deals’ cleverly designed to entice customers into spending more under the guise of a sale.
This isn’t the first time a major retailer has been called out for engaging in what shoppers are calling shady practices. A Target shopper called out the Minnesota-based chain for advertising a slew of Samsung TVs of various sizes selling for Black Friday prices, which she showed were the same prices listed on tags posted behind the ‘new’ prices.
@living.withmadison I should have taken it to a price check😂
♬ original sound – Living.withMadison
It’s not just brick-and-mortar stores engaging in this practice of pimping not-really-deals to consumers, either. An Amazon shopper demonstrated how the popular online retailer may also be promoting Black Friday deals that don’t carry the steep discounts shoppers think they may be getting.
Another death knell for the fervor of Black Friday shopping was rung by a finance expert who urged consumers to generally steer clear of any retailers claiming folks can secure themselves fat markdowns, calling the shopping event an instance of marketing under false pretenses.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart and Madison via email for further comment.