In today’s inflated economy, shoppers are willing to go the extra mile to ensure they’re getting the best deal on groceries. And for a long time, those deals could be found at Walmart. The big-box chain is favored for its diverse inventory and low prices—though perhaps not for much longer, some customers warn on social media.
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If you regularly cook meat, you know that these prices are steadily rising. Beef and veal prices are astronomically high, and data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that average chicken breast prices increased from $3 per pound in March 2020 to $4.75 per pound in Sept. 2022, Bloomberg reports. And in 2024, chicken prices are still higher than economists and customers would like to see.
However, there’s a difference between price hikes and adjusted pricing, as one Walmart customer recently pointed out online.
TikToker Virginia Madison was grocery shopping at her local Walmart when she noticed something rather peculiar. In the poultry section, Madison eyed a package of Foster Farms chicken breasts that was labeled 4.78 pounds for $23.76—but it didn’t look or feel like nearly five pounds of meat to Madison.
So, Madison decided to weigh the sealed chicken breasts using a store scale. As she showed in a TikTok video that has since racked up more than 13 million views, the scale read “2.2 pounds,” not 4.78 pounds.
To confirm it wasn’t a freak accident, Madison swapped it out for another package of chicken. This time the scale told her the chicken weighed two pounds, but the product was falsely advertised as 4.92 pounds.
“Walmart is getting us, right?” Madison said.
Thousands of people were quick to weigh in about Madison’s discovery and many corroborated her claims, noting they’ve had similar experiences when buying meat from Walmart. “I weigh all walmart meat. it's usually marked wrong but I've never seen it that far off,” one person said.
“We bought the bag chicken and it was a 3lb bag, weighed at home 1.4lbs. That was over 3 months ago,” wrote a Walmart shopper, while another added, “Just checked mine. It was off by over a pound. Means I paid 3.20 more than I should have.”
“I’m officially checking mine from now on, no matter the store. Everything has gone down in quantity and quality but up in price and it needs to be stopped!” reads another comment that’s gotten more than 9,700 likes.
In a separate TikTok video, Madison showed followers two packages of chicken breasts containing the same amount of meat that were labeled with different weights and a $10 price difference. One of the packages was noticeably filled with air, which Madison claimed contributed to the item’s higher sales tag.
“OK, it’s 2.8 pounds, right? They’re saying this is almost five pounds of chicken, but it’s the same thing. There’s just a lot of air,” Madison said, panning the camera to show the side-by-side packages.
“I’m going to take these upfront and be like, ‘There’s no way,’” she continued. “All the other chicken is priced right.”
Best Life reached out to Walmart about the mislabeled poultry and will update this story with their response.
