WALMART shoppers have ramped up calls for a policy limit on a popular kids game as entire sections are “destroyed”.
Customers are begging for answers after more than one online complaint that they couldn’t find any of the products for their children.
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Furious Americans took to the social media platform X to call on Walmart to do better.
The country has been hit by a Pokémon card shortage in recent weeks, with several major retailers struggling to hold onto items from the iconic game.
One person posted on X on Saturday: “Sad day my son been wanting Pokémon cards, they are so hard to find every place is sold out.
“He got excited when he saw these Pokémon mystery power boxes at Walmart but someone destroyed the whole section & stole everything.
“Why do people have to be like that? @Walmart @Pokemon.”
The rant was accompanied by a video showing the section in their Walmart where the cards are kept.
The shelves have been left in ruins, with cards strewn all over the place and not tidied up by staff.
Boxes are overturned and the entire area is a complete mess.
Walmart did respond to the shopper, named Dan, but suggested carrying on the issue in private.
The response said: “Thank you voicing your concerns, Dan.
“Could you please DM us with more info, so we can look into this for you?”
But this isn’t the only recent social media tirade aimed at the major US retailer in recent days.
On Friday, the day before, another person posted: “Day 1 of my journey to bring limits on purchase of pokemon cards, it’s a kids game and so far not many kids are getting it do better @Pokemon @Target @Walmart @BestBuy.”
This post calls out other big brands like Target and Best Buy, suggesting that this isn’t only a problem at Walmart.
Costco is now putting limits on the amount of boxes shoppers can buy.
Those not paying attention might be surprised by the sudden shortage, but this has been building for a while within the Pokémon fandom.
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One of the main reasons for the shortage is a genuine renewed popularity for the brand, fueled by the arrival of the new app Pokémon TCG Pocket.
While this craze started as a niche one, it didn’t take long for people outside of the immediate community to take notice.
This came with major companies like McDonald’s putting cards in their happy meal boxes.
Social media is blowing up with pack openings, and it seems like Pokémon is surging for the first time since the Pokémon Go craze of 2016.
But this has also drastically raised the price of cards, with eBay resales hitting new peaks and the products becoming harder to find.
There is growing concern that shoplifters are taking advantage of the renewed popularity.
While there are things retailers like Walmart can do to prevent shoplifting, the intense desire for the cards may have taken many by surprise, including the retailers.
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