Shoppers Expose Fake Sales Tags at This Retailer

Shoppers were floored to find out the Kohl’s sales prices they saw for some clothes were hiding lower price tags in a now viral TikTok video.

The clothes in question had previously been on clearance, but Kohl’s had seemingly put on higher price tags under a new sale during Black Friday.

TikToker @BlotterDaughter posted the video on Saturday, showing a jacket with a sales tag of $108 could be pulled off to reveal an earlier clearance price of $48.60.

When the TikToker went to look at other nearby jackets, she was shocked to see it was a pattern across the store.

“Dude, you should take it up there and try to get it for $48.60,” the woman said in the TikTok video.

Once again, the store had put on a higher $108 price, which would make the new ‘sales’ price (at 40 percent off) $64.80. That’s around $20 more expensive than the jackets’ original clearance prices.

Newsweek reached out to Kohl’s by email for further comment.

Shoppers Beware of the Larger Retailer Trend

The seemingly deceptive sales practice allows retailers to raise prices on previously discounted items to garner higher profits — while still making customers believe they got a deal.

However, retail experts say it’s not solely a Kohl’s problem.

“Unfortunately, it’s quite common to see retailers meddling with the prices around Black Friday and other busy sales periods,” Diana Howard, a financial analyst at a discount and coupon code site CouponBirds, told Newsweek. “They might do this by describing an item as being ’50 percent off’ from a price that they have never sold it at, instead using the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.”

This means your Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale might be even higher than what the item was being sold for earlier in the year.

In response to the now viral TikTok video, shoppers shared how common the price deception can be and warned others on the internet to avoid the tricks retailers often play on customers to entice them into splurging on the sales.

“I’ve watched this same type video from Walmart, Kohls and Target,” user @TheSnackPak6 said.

“When I worked retail, they marked up all the watches for Black Friday so our sale would bring it back to normal price,” another user Morgan A. Stone shared. “Never shopped Black Friday after.”

Clearance Items Look More Expensive

Hataish Kumar, the founder and CEO of coupon site CouponGot, said this helps stores especially when their inventory isn’t moving off the shelves.

“It can be a way to get rid of slow-selling items,” Kumar told Newsweek. “By making clearance items appear to be more expensive, retailers may be able to entice shoppers to buy them more quickly.”

To avoid spending more than an item is worth, even during sales events, you should check online to see what the product is being sold for elsewhere. Websites like pricegrabber or Google Shopping can typically show customers if they’re being led astray by believing a price is actually a deal. And in stores, as the TikTok video showed, picking at the price tag can reveal if it is covering a lower price.

“Shoppers should know that while many Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are genuinely great opportunities, some retailers will offer items at a price that, on closer inspection, isn’t actually very discounted,” Howard said.

Practice Could Damage Shoppers’ Trust

As shoppers become increasingly aware that retailers engage in this practice, it could cause less frequent shopping at the specific stores.

“It can damage the trust that shoppers have in retailers,” Kumar said. “If shoppers believe that retailers are trying to deceive them, they may be less likely to shop at those retailers in the future.”

The problem isn’t limited to brick and mortars, however. Amazon was also found to be inflating prices on items, only to show them as ‘deals’ to unknowing shoppers.

The Keepa browser extension, an add-on for Amazon customers, shows the past prices of products. A look through the extension’s capabilities revealed some extreme Black Friday pricing manipulation.

For instance, a De’Longhi Stilosa Manual Espresso Machine that was on sale for $89.95 in October. On Black Friday, the price was at $85.66, but Amazon made it appear like a bigger steal, as it was last listed in mid-November at $99.95.

Another instance of this was the Toshiba 75-inch Class C350 Series, priced at $499.99 on Black Friday. This was the same price the item was going for in early October, but Amazon brought the price up to $799.99, making it seem like a better deal.