Walmart+ shopper blasts promotion ‘screwing’ longtime members and ‘cancel’ trick

A CONSUMER has been left furious over a promotion they were excluded from at Walmart.

They argued that the retail giant should’ve offered the deal to all of those who pay for its membership service.

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That service, Walmart+, costs $98 annually for those who subscribe and offers several crucial benefits.

Members get free delivery on all items with no minimum order fee, fuel discounts of up to 10 cents per gallon, a Paramount+ subscription, and early access to Black Friday sales.

In a bid to get more shoppers to sign up, Walmart recently announced that it would be slashing the cost on the annual fee by 50% for new members.

It runs from now until December 2, but is exclusive to new Walmart+ members only.

That means longtime members who are simply renewing their subscription after the year ends can’t benefit, something that didn’t sit well with some Walmart shoppers.

A multi-year Walmart+ member, David, argued that those who already have memberships should be able to take advantage of the discount.

FAIRNESS CHECK

While he was advised a work-around for the exclusivity of the promotion, David felt it shouldn’t have to be completed.

“Hey @Walmart tried to renew my #Walmart+ membership at the discounted rate you offer for new members — was told I had to cancel my membership and then sign up again if I wanted the discount,” he wrote in a post on X earlier this month.

“Pretty awful that you would not offer this to your longtime existing members.”

Walmart quickly responded, explaining the situation in more detail for the frustrated customer.

“At this time, the offer is available for all new, trial and monthly members,” the retail giant said.

“However, this offer is not currently available for existing annual members.”

“We frequently have promotions available, so we’d encourage you to check back regularly for any new deals!” Walmart added.

Despite the retailer’s response, David still wasn’t satisfied and claimed Walmart was “screwing over [its] longtime members by not giving them the same price break.”

“Ridiculous, — don’t you get it?” he asked.

It’s unclear if the situation was ever resolved.

FEATURE FURY

One of the biggest benefits to Walmart+, the Scan & Go feature through the retailer’s mobile application, has been causing issues lately as well.

Scan & Go lets Walmart+ members use their phone to scan the merchandise they want to buy as they walk throughout the store and place items in their cart.

The app then generates a single barcode for each item to be scanned at self-checkout for a quick and easy payment process.

To further the Scan & Go benefit for members, Walmart allowed store managers at select locations to start blocking off some self-checkout kiosks to make the process smooth.

Many regular customers have been furious about the move, arguing it only caused longer lines and more difficult shopping experiences for them.

Others are still fuming over Walmart’s refusal to allow a certain payment method, leading them to leave groceries behind and walk out of the store in protest.