A TikToker has taken to the platform to claim that Target raised the price on a rug she previously shared in a viral video.
In her first video of the rug, Cate (@midwest.hawtmess) shares her favorite rug made by Target under its Threshold home brand, stating that iterations of this rug in various sizes are the only rugs in her home. That initial video received 1.8 million views. In a follow-up video, she alleges that the rug’s price had increased by $30 after her video had increased awareness of it.
“The video blew up, I know everyone says that, but it was a video about a rug,” Cate says in the video. “So everyone kept asking how much it was, because I think they were trying to find it based on the price. So I went onto Target.com and I’m really pissed off. That 5′ x 7′ rug has always been $100. I have three of them. They’ve always been $100. I just went on their app, and this is what it says.”
@midwest.hawtmess FUCKING EW. Also rug tour is coming. LET ME GET MY HOUSE IN ORDER YALL. @target ♬ Wes Anderson-esque Cute Acoustic – Kenji Ueda
She then adds a background to the video showing the Target.com listing of the rug.
“Did they seriously raise it $30 overnight because there might be an influx of traffic and interest?” Cate says. “$30? I’ll show you, I paid $100. Yesterday, and almost a year ago. Target, shame on yourself. That’s disgusting. The big one is still the same price. Appalled.”
The Target website lists the rug at $130 as of Saturday. Several other 5′ x 7′ rugs under the Threshold brand are listed for $99 to $100. It’s unclear when exactly the alleged price increase occurred.
Some commenters agreed with her, saying it was odd for the price to increase $30, seemingly overnight.
“They 100% did because I saw your video yesterday and have a screenshot of the rug on the app for $100 and it’s now $130,” one commenter wrote. “That’s crazy!”
“Literally all of their 5×7 threshold rugs are 100$ except for this exact one,” another wrote.
Others criticized what they perceived to be ignorance of supply and demand——although, Cate responded to one commenter stating that she understands how supply and demand works, but that it wasn’t the point of making this video.
“When more ppl want something it increases the value,” one commenter wrote. “When the value increases they increase the price. Supply and demand.”
“Do people study demand and supply in the USA?” another wrote. “That’s how it works.”
Some other commenters pointed out that other retailers, like Walmart, are also raising prices on items, most likely due to inflation.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Target directly via email and to Cate via Instagram DM.
Update 3:01 pm CT March 5: In a statement to the Daily Dot, Cate said she hasn’t heard from Target, but believes this is “what big companies do all the time.” She said she had linked the 5′ x 7′ version of the rug in her bio and that the link had received over 4,000 clicks. She speculated on what happened with the price change.
“It’s also not a coincidence,” she said. “If it was supply and demand, all sizes in that pattern would have gone up $30+. I’m assuming something on their back end was flagged and that’s why it went up. They were getting ahead. It’s smart but not ethical in my opinion.”
Cate also said that she has had stuff she’s linked to go viral before, but this is the first time the price has seemingly changed immediately after.
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