‘Pretty much everything at the store is 50% more than 2-3 years ago’: Walmart shopper discovers ground beef has doubled in price. Why?

A Walmart employee went viral on TikTok after calling out the retail store for increasing the price of its meat. 

Elizabeth (@itsqueenelizabeth.to.you) pointed out the supposed price hike to viewers in a recent video. As of Saturday afternoon, her post had amassed more than 659,100 views. “I am thoroughly confused,” she wrote in the accompanying video caption. 

The worker recorded her video from inside Walmart; she stood by the store’s meat department while questioning the cost of lean ground beef.

“I’m at Walmart right now and I’m very confused at these prices,” she repeated.

Elizabeth then showed viewers a 16 ounce pack of ground beef. “This used to be $3.94 and I know that because I work here,” she said. “You want to know how much it is now?” The worker panned her camera over to the price. To her surprise, the meat now cost nearly $8. 

“I’m barely able to survive,” Elizabeth said. 

She doubled down on her frustration in the accompanying text overlay. “Can I please have an explanation for this BS? I don’t even know who to blame anymore,” the worker wrote. 

Are Walmart’s meat prices rising?

It’s not just Walmart. If you feel like your trips to the grocery store have been putting a bigger strain on your pocket book lately, you’re not just imagining things. Food prices in the U.S. have risen significantly over the past few years due to high inflation. 

Customers are taking note of this. According to a May survey from Intuit Credit Karma, 80% of Americans say they’ve felt a pronounced increase in food costs. And according to that same report, grocery prices have risen 25% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So the price hikes might not be unique to Walmart. According to Bloomberg and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average price of chicken breasts increased from $3 per pound in March 2020 to $4.75 per pound in September 2022.

But Elizabeth is certainly not the first Walmart customer to notice that ground beef, in particular, is getting pricier. Six months ago, one redditor posted evidence showing that the cost of the store’s fat ground beef chuck had gone up $1 in the span of a month. More recently, one Walmart shopper accused the store of lying about the weight of certain meats, including bacon.

Commenters are feeling the squeeze

Even if the issue of inflation isn’t unique to Walmart, a number of commenters said that they’ve taken note of the price hikes.

“Pretty much everything at the store is 50% more than 2-3 years ago,” one shopper said.

“I actually think Walmart is higher than other grocery stores,” another suggested. “I think they are taking advantage of people.” 

“It’s just price gouging,” a third person added.

Others, meanwhile, pointed out that it isn’t just meat that’s rising in cost.

@itsqueenelizabeth.to.you I am thoroughly confused ????#groceryshopping #wtf #inflation #foryou #viral ♬ original sound - Queen.Elizabeth_

“Everything has went up crazy prices,” one viewer wrote. 

“It’s everyone and everything,” another said. “Car insurance, gas prices, food, RENT, mortgage, everything. We’re all just trying to survive.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Elizabeth via TikTok comment and to Walmart through its media request form.

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