Target and Walmart tariff price hikes leak online from unlikely source.

Target and Walmart tariff price hikes leak online from an unlikely source

Despite the focus on iPhones and electronics, toys are actually some of the hardest hit by tariffs so far.
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Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The ripple effects of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are starting to appear on the shelves of big box stores like Target and Walmart.

On Reddit's r/Walmart subreddit, posters who say they're employees of Walmart have begun reporting significant price hikes.

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In fact, the subreddit has become a running thread of examples, from grocery staples to toys and outdoor gear. One post points to an 8-ounce jar of cocoa powder, which spiked from $3.44 to $6.18, a nearly 80 percent increase. As spotted by Business Insider, a Jurassic World T-Rex toy recently jumped from $39.95 to $55 — a 38 percent hike — while a fishing reel that once sold for $57.37 is now listed at $83.26. The same products have seen similar price increases at Target as well, also according to Business Insider.


While anecdotal, these Reddit posts suggest that the tariff price hikes Walmart warned about may have arrived.

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At an earnings call in May, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned customers that the company might not be able to avoid price hikes much longer. As The Street reported, McMillon acknowledged that the company couldn't "absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins." Also in May, Walmart CFO John David Rainey warned consumers that Trump’s tariff policy could impact prices "within the coming weeks," which means these increases are right on time.

"We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb," Rainey told CNBC. "It’s more than any supplier can absorb."

Trump didn’t take kindly to these statements. On Truth Social, he fired back, saying Walmart should simply "eat the tariffs."

It's still unclear how long the Trump administration's new tariffs will last. A federal trade court ruled last Thursday that Trump lacked the constitutional authority to implement his expansive tariff regime. That decision is currently on hold pending appeal, meaning the tariffs remain in place for now.

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According to a 2023 Reuters report, 60 percent of Walmart’s goods were sourced from China between Jan. and April of that year. Since then, the company has begun shifting parts of its supply chain to India in an effort to diversify.

Topics  Politics Tariffs

Comments

  1. Please explain to me why Trump thinks tariffs are a good thing when all they do is make things more expensive. I thought cheaper labor overseas is why most manufacturing jobs moved offshore. Now we get cheap products from overseas. Now he wants to punish the public with tariffs?

    It was one thing when a radio built overseas cost $3 but a similar radio built in America cost $6

    I just don’t get it. McKinley Tariffs raised prices but did little to help the average American. Smoot-Hawley tariff made the depression worse.

    Regan came up with NAFTA and while Unions screamed the public benefited from lower prices.

    What good does raising prices on imports do for the American people? How is the stock market going to react when consumer spending plummets because tariffs made everything is too expensive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tariffs tax the common people. People can no longer afford basic items and frivolous spend grinds to a halt. Businesses falter and fail, especially small businesses. Farms fail. Employees lose their jobs.

      The flip side is the government can shout about about the revenue. It looks great on paper. Makes awesome headlines, especially when propaganda and rhetoric are used to present a false reality.

      From whichever side someone views tariffs from, the sad reality is that tariffs are a tax against the common people and the common good and an excellent PR campaign for the government.

      Delete
    2. Mashable didn't like me explaining that he only knows how to talk and that's it. Otherwise he has unfounded opinions and things just fall out of his mouth with no consequences.

      Delete
  2. It's like the tea tax .. that didn't go over so well either did it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fun fact, the tea runners were all pretty much smugglers. Of course they did not like tax.

      Delete
  3. https://images.spot.im/image/upload/v200/e92d3c45-017b-40e2-bb60-752a1b1c5c12

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m looking for serious answers not jingoistic slander or rhetoric

      Delete
    2. Serious answers without rhetoric or slander? Unrealistic in the current society where the government lies, uses rhetoric, slander against others. What you want goes against the new acceptable societal norms. Why do you expect the general public to act differently than the government or president? Polite society is gone. Raving lunatics have control. Your expectations are now too high. Don't expect the common man to behave differently than the leaders.

      Delete
    3. Oh, unrealistic answers. Got it. Bye!

      Delete
  4. I still can't figure out why people keep buying this Chinese junk? All that's it's doing is supporting child slave labor and making the Chinese Communist more wealthy

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's what Donnie "two dolls" trump was saying. Kids will have to conform with two dolls, not 30 for Christmas. He knew toys were going to be greatly affected.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 🤣🤣😂😂you get what you voted for.AND WHAT DUMBFUCK WOULD THINK A COMPANY EAT A TARIFF🤣🤣🤣

    ReplyDelete
  7. The bright side of Trumps dumps people will buy within their means go without the unecessaries and settle for the what they really need.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Corporate greed needs to stop

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. start with tacos tariffs

      Delete
    2. TACO MAN needs to be STOPPED!

      Delete
    3. sounds like you want price controls

      Delete
  9. There just guageing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cause taco's tariffs are paid by who?

      Delete
    2. gouging. Also, tariffs do increase cost of goods, so far at least 10% on most goods.

      Delete
  10. The people who voted for lower inflation are going to get higher inflation, but they will still call it winning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well yeah because the libs will also have to pay higher prices so it’s a win for them.

      Delete
  11. If it is within your means to do so, I highly encourage anyone to try and buy from a local grocer. Walmart used to be the cheapest alternative in town for many people, and it simply just isn't that way anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Not surprised — we all end up paying for trade wars in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wait, what's the ‘unlikely source’? Please tell me it was a TikTok influencer.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This just confirms what we already knew: prices are going up and someone always knows before we do.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So the ‘low prices always’ promise is officially dead?

    ReplyDelete
  16. What do they mean by ‘leak’? Pretty sure that was just Karen from accounting texting her friend.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Honestly, if the source was a disgruntled employee, give them a raise for transparency.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You know it's serious when even Walmart can't hide inflation behind rollback signs.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Time to start stockpiling toilet paper and cereal again...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Tariffs strike again. These price hikes are just the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  21. LOL, bet it was someone’s mom in a Facebook group spilling all the tea.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Toys getting hit hard by tariffs is wild—kids just want their action figures, not a trade war!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Framing this as just "kids wanting action figures" oversimplifies the issue. Tariffs are a complex economic tool, and toy price hikes reflect broader supply chain realities, not just a "trade war" boogeyman.

      Delete
  23. Target and Walmart prices going up? Guess my holiday shopping’s gonna hurt this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Complaining about holiday shopping ignores the bigger picture. Retailers like Target and Walmart absorb some costs, but passing tariffs to consumers is inevitable when global trade policies shift. Blame the system, not just the stores.

      Delete
  24. Who leaked this? Some rogue employee spilling the tea on tariff hikes is iconic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Calling the leaker "iconic" is naive. Unauthorized leaks can destabilize markets and hurt workers more than corporations. It’s less "spilling tea" and more reckless disclosure of sensitive data.

      Delete
  25. I thought electronics would take the biggest hit, but toys? That’s a plot twist

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It’s not a "plot twist"—toys are often imported from countries heavily targeted by tariffs, like China. Assuming electronics would bear the brunt shows a lack of understanding of global manufacturing trends.

      Delete
  26. Tariffs are coming for our wallets, and now even Barbie’s dream house costs more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hyperbolic whining about Barbie prices sidesteps the real issue: tariffs are designed to protect domestic industries, not just inflate toy costs. Look at the long-term trade-offs before crying about your wallet.

      Delete
  27. Leaked from an unlikely source? Sounds like someone’s got beef with corporate!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Great, now my kid’s Christmas list is gonna cost me an arm and a leg. Thanks, tariffs.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Target, Walmart, and now toys? Can’t we just have nice things without the price hike?

    ReplyDelete
  30. This leak is giving me all the drama I didn’t know I needed about retail tariffs.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Toys taking the tariff hit is so unfair—leave the Legos alone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Calling it "unfair" is emotional, not analytical. Tariffs hit toys because they’re import-heavy, not because someone’s targeting Legos. Economic policy isn’t about your nostalgia—it’s about market dynamics.

      Delete

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