Target Shopper Uses Kiosk To Check Price of Backpack. By the Time She Gets to the Register, It’s Gone Up 50%:‘It’s Time To Leave These Big Box Stores’

With back-to-school among us, parents are searching for the most affordable supplies for their children. Since these can be pricey, scoring a product half off should feel like a win until that discount “magically” increases during checkout. One Virginia-based mother claimed this allegedly happened with a Mario backpack her son wanted at Target.

“Long story short, I was a victim of dynamic pricing in real time,” TikTok creator and mother Patrice (@thefuturewiseoldwoman) begins her video. “I’m incredibly mad about it and I gotta tell you about it.”

Then, she dishes the details to over 340,000 viewers.

How Did She Experience This at Target?

First, she explained how she was shopping for school supplies for her son. When they were browsing for backpacks, there was a Mario one that caught her son’s eye. Initially, she was apprehensive, assuming the cost would be hefty.

“‘Oh, this backpack is gonna be $60,’” she recalls thinking.

But there was a specific detail the content creator observed. “The Jansport backpacks have price tags on them or price tags on the wall. These backpacks did not,” she elaborated. 

However, this trend hasn’t gone unnoticed at Target. Last year, one woman pointed out that certain clothing was missing perforated tags, which Fortune notes is allegedly due to employees’ difficulty keeping up with tariffs. As a result, Patrice decided to opt for the in-store scanner, much to her surprise.

“I was elated because it was $13.99. It was in red. It showed that it was discounted,” she says. “Put it in my cart, I was ready to purchase it. Mind you, this is about 4:55.”

What Happened at The Register?

“So, I take all my stuff and I take everything to the register. The backpack is the first thing I put on the register,” she says.

As soon as the female cashier rang up the backpack, the content creator’s heart dropped.

“It rings up for $27.99,” Patrice recalls. “She scans it again; it comes up for $27.99 again. She looks at the whole bag, looking for other tags. There are no other tags.”

Subsequently, the customer returned to the original kiosk to scan the backpack again.

“It came up for $27.99 at that kiosk that I just used,” she recounts. “My theory is that when I checked the price, it was before 5 and when I took it to the register, it was after 5 and the price changed.”

Now, she swears to never let this happen again.

“Target you, will never catch me slipping again,” the content creator vowed. “Stay tuned, my friends.”

Viewers Are Up In Arms

In the comments section, many were as livid as her.

“I literally hate this reality,” one viewer commented.

“This is absolutely disgusting, we are all literally struggling to make ends meet and now this…..so frustrating,” another stated.

“I can’t handle the fact that EVERYTHING is a scam now,” a third remarked.

Moreover, others proposed what they believed were effective solutions.

“Leave the items and don’t buy them. This will stop stores from doing this if enough people do this,” one commenter suggested.

“TAKE PICTURES! I took a pic of what it said on the shelf and what it showed on the app as well because it was ringing up a different price at checkout and they changed the price back,” a second recommended.

“Shop local! It’s time to leave these big box stores alone,” a third urged.

Does Target Practice Dynamic Pricing?

In an age when everything is turning digital, prices changing at the drop of a dime based on consumer demand sounds truly dystopian. Being charged for a product based on the time of day or location in the store, as Patrice allegedly encountered, has consumers worried. Some people have allegedly witnessed this in action at Walmart and Michaels. Even Wendy’s attempted to implement this, sparking heavy backlash from the public.

Although Target hasn’t confirmed it practices dynamic pricing in stores, it does on its app. In 2019, Minnesota TV station KARE 11 put this to the test after viewers reported this concern. What they uncovered confirmed it.

According to their website, they observed that the closer they were to the store, the more certain product prices increased, and vice versa. How does the retailer do this? Well, tracking customers’ location. To prevent price switcheroos, disable your location in the app settings so it ensures you’re only seeing online ones.

@thefuturewiseoldwoman I personally think this is a dynamic pricing instance, but obviously I can’t be 100% sure. Dynamic pricing should be illegal! The price of my item jumped by 50% in MINUTES. If I wouldn’t have checked the price BY SCANNING THE BARCODE beforehand, I never would’ve known. I will be following up. ##dynamicpricing##targetfinds ♬ original sound – Patrice

The Mary Sue reached out to Patrice via email and TikTok comment as well as Target via press email.

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