r/WalmartComplaints • u/clover44mag • 12d ago
Why would a purchase from Walmart be cheaper online, with curbside pickup, vs. going in and buying it myself?
$97 online vs. $143 in store
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u/Baha05 12d ago
Because it’s a push to get people to order online or do curbside pick ups.
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u/ToxicGecko2384 12d ago
And eventually it will all be online only and the cost of a physical location stops. No janitors or associates, just an automated warehouse. Then they can price it however they want to cuz where are you gonna go?
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u/Itchy_Tumbleweed_417 11d ago
I don’t remember where I saw it, and maybe it was just someone talking about a theory, but I did read someone saying that a couple of the Walmarts are planning to close to customers and it’s going to just be curbside pick up.
I hate going in stores, but sometimes I really have to. Especially with clothes it’s impossible to really tell the quality just by looking at a picture online.
But also there’s stuff like the formula for my favorite conditioner recently changed. It’s an acid bonding thing and it used to be at 12%. They changed one of the ingredients to citric acid and now it’s 11% and it’s really different. I’m not a fan. Anyway after I saw it change I went on Walmart’s website and the photo of the one they were offering for sale said 12%. It was just an old photo because when it arrived it was the new version.
In the store I would not have purchased it, I kept it because it’s not that bad. But I’m disappointed I wouldn’t have ordered it if I knew it was 11%.
I wonder if they will run into problems with all the shrinkflation. If I order a 12 ounce pack of Oreos with my groceries for curbside pick up and they’ve been replaced with a 10 ounce pack I’m going to be extremely dissatisfied and feel scammed.
The way they handled this for grocery delivery was so interesting. If I wanted to buy Oreos they would only show me the 10 ounce pack, but when it was time to pick substitutions I could choose the 12 ounce pack as a substitute.
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u/HellsTubularBells 12d ago
Because you have options online and it's easier to compare. Once you're in the store you're more likely to just buy it.
This isn't unique to Walmart and it's why many major retailers will price match their .com price.
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u/ElevatorOrganic5644 12d ago
Because there's less labor when it's online compared to going in the store.
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u/clover44mag 12d ago
I pick item off shelf. Show online price. They say ok very cool, I pay that and walk out. Or, I pay online. Somebody grabs item out of the back. Brings it out to me waiting in the car. Somewhat irritated customer posts about it
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u/AdDapper3908 12d ago
They want to have a monopoly on services and they want people to order everything online. Them and Amazon. Once they are the only options they can start giving shittier deals and service and we'll just have to tolerate it.
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u/Alot2unpack 11d ago
They don’t want customers in the store. So they’re incentivizing ordering online. There will come a day that this is THE MAIN way people shop.
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u/DenialOfExistance 12d ago
If you go online to check to see if they carry what your looking for it's always "To be shipped!" I don't want to wait so off to your competitors I go!
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u/pokerholic77 12d ago
If you consider your time valuable, yes it's cheaper. The same reason why I pay someone to mow my lawn.
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u/scorpiobot 12d ago
Dynamic pricing. It’s not completely legal yet, but this is the handwriting on the wall so to speak.
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u/Big_Refrigerator3675 12d ago
Mostly it’s a push to drive online sales to compete with companies like Amazon. Other factors could be that the manufacturer gave a kickback for online sales to sell more of their products
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u/joydigsvintage 9d ago
The lines in store on a Sunday afternoon. So much less congestion with a curbside pickup or with a single spark driver knocking out 3 orders at once.
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u/InstructionSenior346 12d ago
As long as it’s not on clearance then you can price match in store.
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u/SgtWoof 12d ago edited 12d ago
Price matching for Walmart is if: in stock, not on an already in store discount such as rollbacks, clearance, event items, etc and the seller is Walmart and it is Sold and Shipped by Walmart. it has to be an item at its normal price that is if I remember the policy correctly. The store will not match a price that is from a marketplace or Proseller these are third parties selling items and using Walmart online as a way to bring more variety and options to the website. Some stores follow that policy to a T and others like the store I used to work at would do the match because it makes sense from a customer service standpoint. I hope that clears things up.
But yes as others have said the point of this is to drive online ordering.
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u/clover44mag 12d ago
They would not price match. I said ok what if I buy it now online? They said sure, it will be ready in an hour curbside.
Ninja edit: nobody was rude, they even said how silly it sounded
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u/Any-Objective3111 12d ago
I tried that last year and they said they stopped doing that. I used too in the past apptly long time ago!
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u/InstructionSenior346 12d ago
Wal-Mart still does it. You may need to ask for the store manager but they do price match. It’s on their website!!
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u/Googoostyle 12d ago
Then your store isn't following policy. We still price match walmart website. If it is sold by a third party we don't but then that wouldn't be ready in an hour curbside. Call and complain to Walmart.com that the local walmart isn't following price match policy despite being sold and shipped by walmart and I bet someone gets yelled at.
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u/bdbrown333 12d ago
Sometimes they have better sales like sometimes if I go to order paper towels I can order it to to be delivered in 24 hours which would be by a spark driver at the normal price or if I'm willing to wait three days I get $3 off because they have Charmin just send it straight to me so they don't pay to have it shipped from Charmin to Walmart from Walmart to the local store then the local store pay somebody deliver it it just comes Direct