Target and Walmart tariff price hikes leak online from unlikely source

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.

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.

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.

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.