One of the reasons people shop at Walmart is to get much lower prices for items they are looking for.
So when something looks like a deal isn’t really a good deal, it’s annoying.
TikToker @queentayshops pointed this out in a video that has gone viral.
“Is anyone else noticing that the word ‘Clearance’ is starting to lose its name?” she asks.
She’s recording her video inside a Walmart.
She switches her shot to show a bunch of bright yellow signs that say “Clearance” on them.
Walking toward an example product, she says that you save $1.97 with the deal, but “Usually clearance is a minimum of 40% off.”
She is very puzzled by this marketing strategy.
“There is no way that someone like me, a 22 year old who has studied PR (public relations) has more knowledge than these corporate organizations about sales.”
Her issue isn’t so much that she can get items for cheaper after getting her hopes up, but that this practice could work against the company.
“They’re doing it the wrong way,” she says.
“If you’re gonna lie, you’re diminishing the word ‘Clearance.'”
“When they actually do have a good sale, nobody’s gonna come because it’s like the boy who cried wolf.”
While clearance doesn’t mean a big deal, just that the product needs to be removed from the store soon, marketing this way still leaves a foul taste in some shoppers’ mouths.
“If you had advertised this as just a sale, you would make more sales.”
Watch the full clip.
@queentayshops Is this the “slashing prices” they were talking ab on the news this spring? Hmm #walmart #clearance #clearancehunter
Here is what folks are saying.
Many pointed out that Walmart’s use of the word is technically correct. I think she knows this.
Many people vented about low discounts. I don’t think this would anger me.
So it’s not a COVID thing? Interesting.
This one seems like either trolling or a mistake.
This example IS unethical. So cringeworthy.
Don’t get your hopes up.
If you liked that story, check out this one about a Costco customer who got their cart stolen… so she hatched a plan to get it back!