Colorado man puts $12 cat litter into his Walmart shopping cart on the app. Why is it $29 at the store?: ‘Digital price tags need to be banned’
Over the past year, the phrase “dynamic pricing” has gained a lot of traction online.
The idea behind dynamic pricing is pretty simple—and it isn’t exactly new. In short, dynamic pricing is the process that allows prices to change quickly in response to current conditions. For example, if there’s a sudden rush to buy a product, dynamic pricing may allow a business to dramatically increase the price in response to this demand.
Consumer response to this idea hasn’t been positive. In December, Instacart officially stopped its AI-pricing experiment after consumer backlash. Per Reuters, the AI tool allowed retailers to conduct randomized price tests to measure how shoppers responded to price increases or decreases without the shoppers’ knowledge.
While dynamic pricing is common for major online retailers, its presence in physical stores is limited — or is it?
What’s Going On With Walmart’s Prices?
In a video with over 46,000 views, TikTok user @__discokingj__ says he observed something strange on a recent trip to Walmart.
According to the TikToker, he planned to pick up groceries from Walmart after work. Consequently, he went on the Walmart app and filled up their cart. Among the items were two small boxes of cat litter priced at $12.42 each.
Seeing that the earliest available pickup time was 9 pm, he decided to simply go to the store and do the shopping themselves. What happened next led him to believe he was the victim of a specific form of dynamic pricing.
Was This Person Targeted By Dynamic Pricing At Walmart?
To preface this section, the TikToker offers their take on dynamic pricing.
“The idea behind dynamic pricing is that they know who you are. They know when you’re at the store; they follow you around the store, and the prices change depending on where you’re at and what you’re looking at,” the TikToker explains.
“A lot of that is tied also to the Walmart app,” he continues. “So, if you do, like, delivery or pick up or something like that, then it changes — like, the price, depending on you and your account and what it knows about you. But the other idea about it is that it also tracks you throughout the store.”
To that end, when he arrived at the aisle with the cat litter, he discovered the specific item listed at around $29. This is despite the fact that other litters of comparable size were around the originally-quoted $12.
“Guess which one of these was still in my cart on Walmart.com, in the open tab when I went to Walmart?” the TikToker says. He then shows that his cart still contains the items with the inflated in-store price.
“Just saying, it’s weird,” the TikToker concludes.
What’s Going On Here?
The TikToker’s exact claim is unclear. In short, it seems that he is putting forth the idea that the price tag changed due to their presence in the exact aisle of the item that he wanted, or that the price changed due to him simply entering the store.
This user wouldn’t be the first to accuse a major retailer of engaging in a little funny business with their pricing. One woman virally accused Michaels of dynamic pricing after finding none of the items in their store had price tags. Another alleged that they witnessed Walmart wirelessly changing their prices after they had entered the store.
But is this really happening?
To date, there’s no real confirmation that it is. In October 2024, Walmart denied that it was engaging in “surge pricing,” saying then that it had no plans to introduce dynamic pricing. That said, it did admit it was switching to digital price tags, which it said would simply allow for easier price changes.
Is Walmart Targeting Specific Customers With Their Price Changes?
At present, there’s no evidence that this is the case.
To start, studies of digital price labels have found that they, as of yet, do not lead to surge pricing.
Additionally, complications with this system would make its real-world implementation considerably difficult. While these labels can be remotely changed, altering them for every individual shopper could cause consumer confusion and make keeping track of inventory difficult.
@__discokingj__ Regardless if it’s true or not, make sure you’re checking those tags every time before you buy. #walmart #groceryshopping #moneyhacks #2026 #savingmoney ♬ original sound – Disco Kong
Commenters Are Suspicious
Whether this is really happening or not, commenters weren’t happy about the price changes shown in the TikToker’s video.
“If they are using digital price tags they are without a doubt doing dynamic pricing,” declared a commenter.
“This is RIDICULOUS!!! We’re talking about GROCERIES! People budget for this. How can we do that now? For a NECESSARY need???” questioned another. “There has to be a way we can sue.”
“The digital price tags are what seals the deal for me. I truly believe that you are right and I think dynamic pricing has been around for a while, just done differently from now when everything is digital and easily manipulated,” stated a third.
The Mary Sue reached out to Walmart via media relations contact form and @__discokingj__ via TikTok DM and comment.
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