Walmart employees have taken to Reddit to reveal sharp price hikes on everyday items, posting photos of new labels as they swap out old ones.
In some cases, workers say prices have risen by as much as 80%, prompting concerns that inflation is accelerating again, this time driven by tariffs, according to a report on DailyMail.com.
One image showed a Hasbro My Real Baby doll jumping from $34.97 to $49.97, a 43% increase. Another highlighted Walmart’s private-label Great Value cocoa powder, which nearly doubled in price from $3.44 to $6.18.
Walmart has not yet commented publicly.
The price spikes appear to reflect the company’s struggle to cope with a wave of tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has previously warned that the retailer would not be able to absorb all the additional costs caused by the duties, especially given the retailer’s narrow margins.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible,” McMillon said in a recent earnings call. “But we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure.”
Walmart imports roughly 60% of its goods from China. Under Trump’s policies, some imported goods are now facing tariffs ranging from 10% to 30%, with higher duties temporarily paused as the White House negotiates with trading partners.
President Trump has criticised Walmart’s response, saying the company should “eat the tariffs” rather than pass them on to consumers. In a post on Truth Social, he threatened: “I’ll be watching.”
The price changes aren’t isolated to Walmart. Target employees have also reported major hikes, with one worker posting a picture of a Heyday USB-C charging cable jumping from $9.99 to $17.99, an 80% increase. “All of Heyday is going up,” the post warned.
Experts say these hikes could be a sign of things to come. Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said tariffs are likely to affect all retail categories.
“Produce from overseas will be impacted heavily because margins are low and costs need to be passed across,” he told DailyMail.com.
Walmart’s most recent earnings showed signs of consumer fatigue. Growth is now forecast between 3% and 4% this year, down from 9% in 2023.
Executives said shoppers are pulling back after years of inflation, and higher shelf prices are only adding to the strain.
Online, frustrated customers are pointing fingers at both the government and corporate leaders.
“Regardless of tariffs, Walmart is capitalizing on the idea that things will be more expensive to pad their profit margins,” one Reddit user wrote. “I feel like they did the same thing with the whole COVID thing too.”
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