Most devoted Walmart shoppers appreciate the store's regular low prices on everything from groceries to electronics. But despite the built-in savings, the mega-retailer can often take discounts even further with items on clearance. Typically, shoppers have to be in the know to score some of the very best deals as eager customers often scoop them up soon after they become available. But now, a Walmart shopper has discovered a clearance hack that can help you find items for up to 89 percent off. Read on to see how you could save some money on your next purchase—and if it's even worth the effort.
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Shoppers have discovered a relatively simple hack to find deep discounts on clearance items.
XanderSt / ShutterstockTechnology has undeniably made it easier to search for the best deal on items you want to buy. But while some assume this is limited to price shopping on competing websites, there appears to be a way to unlock deeper savings while perusing the aisles at a Walmart using just your smartphone.
In a series of videos, TikTok user @dealswithnat2 demonstrates that items in the store's clearance section might actually be cheaper than advertised on signage. She simply loads the Walmart app on her phone and scans the product's barcode to reveal its price. In many cases, items ranging from shampoo and blankets to children's toys and groceries can be up to 89 percent off the listed full price, The U.S. Sun reports.
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Other social media personalities have tested the trick out with success.
Harun Ozmen / ShutterstockOther users on social media have started putting the latest trick to the test and posting their results. In a recent video, shopping expert @superunsexy went through a store's clearance section to see what deals were available. His app showed that a bean bag toss game priced on sale at $40 scanned as $16 on the app, while an inflatable jacuzzi marked down from $400 to $300 came up as $215, and a $98 rocking chair came up at $38.50, among other finds.
User @bigdealeric had similar luck when firing up his app in the garden section. In this case, a weeder tool listed at $32.88 was scanned at just $1.
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But experts caution the hack may not always pan out for all shoppers.
ShutterstockThe social media accounts touting the discovery make saving even more money at Walmart look as easy as pointing your phone at a product and putting the best deals in your cart. But retail experts caution that you might be disappointed when you reach the register.
"Based on comments from users who have tried this method of shopping, it's going to be a toss-up on whether or not it works for you," says Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews.com. "Discounts will vary by store, and allegedly, you can use the Walmart app 'in-store mode' to scan items and find discounts you can take advantage of right then and there."
However, she explains that many shoppers have reported that when they try to redeem these lower prices, they're told those are online prices and not in-store prices.
"Some have even stated they've had to physically show Walmart employees their own price match policy to get the lower price, while others basically have stood in a store in front of a product they're interested in and ordered an item through the Walmart app with in-store pickup to get the lower price," she tells Best Life.
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This trick might be worthwhile if you're willing to put in the extra time to find deep discounts—but prepare for some workarounds.
ShutterstockSo, is the hack actually worth attempting on your next Walmart run? Ramhold says that scanning any items you're interested in to see if they have a lower price will likely tack on extra time to your shopping—so you may want to plan to scan only certain products or those above a select price point.
"And if you have to show proof of the price match policy to get a deal, that can also add time to your chore, so the biggest thing to remember is that your time is worth something too," she argues. "If you end up having to jump through a ton of hoops to save some extra cash, it's worth deciding what that threshold is so you aren't having to seek approval for every single lower price you find."
She also points out that it may just be easier to buy online when you find much lower prices—especially if they're marked online-only—even if you're standing in the store. But even then, she says she wouldn't necessarily wait too long to do so.
"Other people are getting wise to this method of finding bigger discounts, which means items that see significant savings will be more likely to sell out faster than they would before TikTok found out about this 'hack,'" she says.
