In a now-viral TikTok, a Walmart worker says the store has made recent price hikes on household items, sparking discussion in the comments.
In the clip, the worker shows themselves swapping out price tags for paper plates and chocolate syrup, upping the price by around $2 for each of the items.
“The price changes I’ve been doing the past few weeks are crazy,” the text overlay on the video reads.
“‘The first one made my jaw drop,” one commenter wrote.
The video was posted by user @be.tru.be.you on Thursday and has since garnered over 735,000 views. Many commenters pointed to COVID-era “price gouging”—in which corporations are accused of responding to high demand by raising prices on essential products—as a possible reason for the sharp price increase.
“At this point, it’s pure greed and price gouging,” one user wrote. “They are doing this and blaming COVID.”
According to an article published by law firm Arnold and Porter, law enforcement agencies have paid closer attention to alleged price gouging since the start of the pandemic. However, a business that raises its prices due to the recent COVID-related supply chain issues would not necessarily constitute price gouging.
Other users pointed out how dramatic price hikes greatly contrast the stagnating national minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. While efforts to raise the federal minimum wage have resulted in some states and jurisdictions increasing the minimum on their own, states like Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Texas have not been raised the minimum wage since the federal minimum was instated in 2009.
“Federal minimum wage is still $7.25 and other states’ minimum wages aren’t high enough to keep up with the prices,” user @aubzkk527 said.
“People are working minimum wage jobs for 2 hours to buy 150 paper plates. Let that sink in,” one commenter wrote.
“The one amount I can rely on staying the same is my paycheck,” another user said.
The Daily Dot reached out to @be.tru.be.you via TikTok comment and to Walmart via press contact form.
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