Walmart Shoppers Slam Aggressive Receipt Checks: "Target Would Never"

Customers flock to Walmart for its competitive low pricing and expansive inventory, but the store’s receipt-check policy has some reevaluating their loyalty to the big-box chain. In recent months, many frustrated shoppers have threatened to boycott Walmart since the store began to double-down on receipt checking. Others are refusing to participate in the policy altogether.

RELATED: Former Walmart Shoppers Reveal Why They Abandoned the Store for Good.

At most Walmart locations, you might notice employees stationed at every exit asking to see a receipt so they can verify your purchases. Legally, a merchant can’t stop customers from exiting the store unless they have “probable cause,” Andrew Bates, a sergeant with the Folsom Police Department in California, previously told ABC10.

In Oct. 2023, a woman was detained at Walmart for 20 minutes when receipt checkers refused to let her exit the store after the self-checkout kiosk she used didn’t print out a receipt. That's an extreme example, but frustration with these policies has not abated, and now, a new incident at one Walmart location has some shoppers making the jump to competitors like Target.

According to a viral TikTok posted by user @protectblackpeople, at least one Walmart receipt checker is enlisting the help of magnifying glasses to ensure each and every item in your cart is accounted for.

The video shows an employee chatting with another customer before approaching the TikToker and their bags. It then jumps to the worker poring over the TikToker’s receipt with her trusty inspection tool.

“POV: you at Walmart and you about to leave and you see this lol okay miss lady she’s not missing anything,” reads a text box in the video.

“Target would never lol,” @protectblackpeople quipped in the caption.

RELATED: The Real Reason Sam's Club Checks Receipts Isn't About Stealing, Worker Says.

Many TikTok viewers seemed to agree with the notion that Walmart’s receipt-checking policy has gotten a little out of hand.

“I cannot stand Walmart I literally be about to just walk out. Checking a paper like I didn’t just throw the stuff in the bag,” one person commented.

Another shopper argued that Walmart’s checkout lines are already long, and that receipt checks just slow things down further. “I’m not waiting in another line just to have my receipts checked,” they said.

Meanwhile, others are choosing to walk out the door and deny receipt checks. “I walk straight past them and say no thank you,” one user claimed.

In a separate TikTok video, a creator who self-describes as a “Target girl” says shopping at Walmart causes her level of anxiety to “be at an all time high.”

One person agreed, adding that “Walmart is so chaotic.” Another person joked that “Targets carts are Cadillacs compared to Walmart.”