Walmart and Target Face Scrutiny as We Uncover Dramatic Price Hikes Across Stores
We’ve found that Walmart is quietly jacking up prices across the board, even though there were demands for the retailer to “eat the tariffs”. Our investigation reveals that many of these price increases don’t seem to be tariff-related at all, but rather appear to be driven by corporate greed. We have obtained pictures not only from Walmart employees but also from Target employees and other stores, showing widespread and substantial markups.
Walmart reported profits of over $15 billion last year. Despite this, we are observing significant price surges on items ranging from toys to office supplies.
Evidence of Price Increases We’ve Documented:
- A fishing reel, for example, increased from $57.37 to $87.26, a 45% surge. This same reel was $51 as recently as mid-March.
- A Jurassic World T-Rex toy rose from $39.92 to $55, an increase of 38%. This same item reportedly cost $29 in November, essentially doubling in price. We’ve even seen this toy on clearance for $20, only to later be on clearance for $55.
- A “Baby Born” doll jumped from $34.97 to $49.97, a 43% increase.
- A LightBrite magic set moved from $14 to $22, and an Etch A Sketch went from $14 to $24.
- Perhaps one of the most astonishing examples is a roll of tape that previously sold for $4, now priced at $9.94, a 134% price increase. We estimate Walmart likely bought this tape for less than a dollar, and even if their cost had risen by 134%, the new cost would only be $2.34, still allowing for a profit margin of over 200%.
- A toddler’s ring stacking toy was photographed by a Walmart worker in early May, showing an increase from $5 to $19.97—a 240% increase. This toy has since reportedly dropped back down to $8.
- We’ve also seen a doll go up by 42%.
- A Target worker uploaded a picture of them replacing a $9.99 tag on a 6ft USB cable with a $17.99 tag.
- A computer tablet we observed went up 23%.
- Even Play-Doh has seen a 30% increase.
What Employees Are Telling Us:
Walmart and Target workers are actively sharing photos and reports of these price increases.
- One user, likely a Walmart employee in toys, stated they had “about 600 price increases in the last couple days. Literally everything went up.” They noted that most items increased by $4, but larger toys like RC’s and hoverboards jumped $40 to $50.
- An apparel worker reported having to tear off parts of price tags where the original price was listed because the majority of items went up $5 to $10 more.
- A screenshot shared by a Walmart employee on Reddit shows 1625 new price increases underway at their location, impacting diverse categories such as candy, tobacco, health and beauty aids, multimedia, gaming, cameras, toys, and hobbies.
Tariffs or Greed? We Believe It’s the Latter.
While retail experts caution that tariffs are likely a factor, they may not be the sole reason for price adjustments. However, we find it curious that some increases, like the 134% on the tape, coincidentally match a tariff amount.
President Trump had previously demanded that retailers “eat the tariffs” rather than pass costs to consumers. The White House initially imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, which were later paused and lowered to 30%.
From our perspective, for many of these items, there is “no cost for them to eat” beyond, at most, a 30% tariff. For instance, a 30% increase on a $4 roll of tape would be just $1.20, far less than the nearly $6 increase we’ve observed. As a retailer ourselves, we choose to absorb tariff costs on our coffee products and accessories, taking less profit. We believe these companies have many options other than raising prices.
Walmart claims about 60% of its products sold in the US come from domestic suppliers, and they have spent years trying to reduce dependence on Chinese imports. We believe that if tariffs are a factor, Walmart should use them as an incentive to rapidly increase domestic sourcing to 70%, 80%, and even 90% in the coming years. Companies like Home Depot already source almost 90% of their products from America.
Target CEO Brian Cornell reportedly stated that price increases would be a “very last resort”. However, it appears they’ve moved on them quite quickly.
Our Call to Action for Consumers:
We believe that while the news media may attempt to frame these price hikes as solely due to trade wars or tariffs, the reality is that many of these increases are not justified. We’ve noticed a drop in advertising dollars for online creators, suggesting companies are cutting spending while increasing prices and letting media outlets attribute it to external factors. We want to be clear: the media is not always on your side when it comes to these issues.
We urge you, as consumers, to become more conscious about your purchases. We encourage you to:
- Shop around: Check prices at other retailers like Amazon or Target.
- Support businesses that aren’t “ripping you off”.
- Compare prices for items you regularly buy.
We will continue to monitor these pricing trends and keep you informed.
