A Walmart customer, Amy, shopped for the same groceries three times over two years to test the effect of inflation and released her observations as a video on TikTok. Within 24 hours of its posting, the video gathered over 1.5 million views and 272.9K likes.
People are saying it isn’t inflation but price gouging, as the TikToker, who goes by @amywaytosave on the platform, shows proof of the cost of the same items increasing by 50% after two years.
The price of the same items climbed drastically over two years
In the video, Amy explains that she bought a few items, including frozen vegetables, eggs, flour, rice, beans, banana, and more, for $10 at the end of 2020 and made a week’s meal for a single person.
“Towards the end of 2020, I went to Walmart, and I purchased all of these things for $10.09, and I made a week’s worth of meals for one person,” the video voiceover said.
And since there was a lot of talk about inflation at the beginning of 2022, Amy, who shares ways to save money online, bought the same items for about 10% more.
“At the beginning of 2022, there was a lot of talk about inflation in the grocery store, so I went back and purchased all the things, and they cost me about 10% more.”
Then, in January 2023, she again bought the same set of items and ended up paying $15, which is 50% more than she spent in 2020.
“This week, I went back again and purchased those same items. Now they cost $15.10, which is 50% more than the prices at the end of 2020.”
The video went viral on the internet and received several comments from perplexed Americans who were angry at the cost increase.
“I think it’s important to note that this isn’t just inflation. This is corporations intentionally raising prices and posting record profits. They're looting customers,” wrote one user.
“It's not inflation anymore. It's price gouging,” added another user.
Meanwhile, another distraught TikTok user wrote, “This is why I'm so exhausted from being told, "It's just 7% inflation." No, no, it's not. We're all struggling.”
America was facing inflation of 6.5% in 2022
According to the latest update US Inflation Calculator, the annual inflation rate of the country has been 6.5% in the last 12 months till December 2022.
But CleanTechnica suggests that 54% of the increase in prices we’re seeing is due to increased corporate profits and not inflation!
What do you think?
Is the price of everyday commodities soaring because of inflation, or are the corporates like Walmart “looting” us?
Leave your comments below, and also share this article with your friends and family.
Disclaimer: This video is for informational and educational purposes only.
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