Most Americans shop at Walmart for groceries without thinking twice about it. The prices seem good, the selection looks decent, and it’s convenient. But recent investigations have uncovered some pretty shocking things about what’s really going on behind those everyday low prices. From questionable business practices to misleading labels, there’s a lot more happening in those aisles than meets the eye.
Walmart controls way too much of America’s food supply
Think about the grocery stores in your area. Chances are, Walmart has pushed out several smaller competitors over the years. In some cities, this situation has gotten completely out of hand. Take Bismarck, North Dakota, where Walmart controls a staggering 83% of the grocery market. That’s not even the worst case – in Atchison, Kansas, they hold 95% of the market share.
Here’s the kicker: under U.S. antitrust laws, things start getting problematic when any company controls more than 50% of a market. Walmart has blown past that limit in 43 major metropolitan areas across the country. This level of control means families often have no choice but to shop there, even if they’d prefer other options. When one company dominates this much, they can essentially charge whatever they want and carry whatever products they choose.
Great Value products aren’t actually great values
Walk down any Walmart aisle and you’ll see tons of Great Value products positioned as money-saving alternatives to name brands. The marketing makes it seem like you’re getting the same quality for less money. Unfortunately, multiple price comparisons have shown this isn’t always true. Stores like Aldi consistently price their house brands lower than Walmart’s Great Value items, sometimes by significant amounts.
Even more frustrating is how much Great Value prices have jumped since the pandemic. Social media users have documented cases where prices doubled on certain products. While Walmart blames inflation, critics point out that the company’s profits spiked 93% in late 2023, suggesting they’re using economic uncertainty as cover to boost their bottom line rather than genuinely passing along unavoidable costs.
The egg situation keeps getting worse
Back in 2016, Walmart made a big public promise to switch to cage-free eggs by 2025. It sounded like a genuine commitment to treating animals better while still keeping prices reasonable for customers. Fast forward to today, and that promise has basically fallen apart. Only about 27% of their eggs are actually certified cage-free, despite selling over 11 billion eggs annually.
The problems go beyond broken promises, though. Customers have sued Walmart over mislabeled eggs, claiming organic labels were slapped on eggs from hens kept indoors in crowded conditions. Undercover investigations at major suppliers have revealed disturbing footage of chickens in terrible conditions, with workers allegedly throwing live birds in garbage and denying medical treatment. When you’re buying eggs at Walmart, it’s really hard to know what you’re actually getting.
Weight fraud cost customers millions
Ever notice how some products at the grocery store are priced by weight? Things like meat, produce, and deli items get weighed and labeled with prices based on that weight. It seems straightforward enough – you pay for exactly what you’re getting. Except Walmart was apparently messing with this system for years, overcharging customers on weighted items.
A class action lawsuit resulted in a $45 million settlement for customers who bought weighted grocery items between 2018 and 2024. The lawsuit accused Walmart of mislabeling weights and overcharging on both regular and clearance weighted items. While Walmart denied the allegations, they still agreed to pay out the massive settlement. Individual customers could claim up to $500, which gives you an idea of how widespread this problem was.
They invented a fake craft brewery
Craft beer has become really popular, with people willing to pay more for something that seems authentic and locally made. Walmart apparently decided to cash in on this trend in the shadiest way possible. They started selling beer under a brand called “Trouble Brewing,” which was supposed to be from Rochester, New York. The packaging looked legit, with all the design elements you’d expect from a real craft brewery.
The problem? The brewery didn’t actually exist. Journalists who investigated found that Trouble Brewing was completely made up, and the beer was actually produced by Genesee Brewing, makers of mass-market beers like Genny Cream Ale. Walmart’s excuse was that they were being “intentional about designing a package that conveyed a look and feel you’d expect of craft beer.” In other words, they knew exactly what they were doing when they created a fake craft brewery to trick customers.
Most of their food is ultra-processed
Scientists recently created a database to analyze how processed the food is at major grocery stores, including Walmart. The results were pretty eye-opening. Using an algorithm that assigns processing scores, researchers found that the vast majority of food at Walmart falls into the “ultra-processed” category. These are foods loaded with additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients.
What’s particularly concerning is that in some food categories, highly processed options were literally the only choice available. For example, all cereals at Walmart scored high on the processing scale, meaning shoppers couldn’t find minimally processed alternatives even if they wanted them. The same pattern showed up in categories like soups, yogurt, and cookies, where less processed options simply weren’t offered.
Food waste happens while people go hungry
Former Walmart employees have shared stories about the incredible amount of perfectly good food that gets thrown away every day. One produce manager reported tossing about a shopping cart’s worth of food daily, including fruits and vegetables that were perfectly fine to eat but didn’t look perfect. When he asked his manager why they couldn’t donate the food to people who needed it, the response was telling: “If you just give it away to people, then why are they going to buy it from us?”
Recent estimates suggest Walmart generates around 383 kilotons of food waste per year. That’s an enormous amount of food hitting dumpsters instead of feeding people. Videos continue popping up on social media showing the scale of this waste, with perfectly good food being thrown away while food banks struggle to meet demand in their communities.
Small suppliers get squeezed until they break
Walmart’s massive size allows them to demand deep discounts from suppliers that smaller stores could never negotiate. While this might sound like it benefits customers through lower prices, it creates a problematic ripple effect throughout the food system. Suppliers who give Walmart huge discounts have to make up the difference somewhere, so they end up charging smaller, independent stores higher prices.
This squeeze has gotten so intense that farmers were receiving an average of just 15 cents for every dollar spent on groceries as of 2019. The rest goes to massive corporations in the supply chain. Small grocery stores can’t compete with Walmart’s artificially low prices and end up closing, leaving entire communities with fewer options and often creating food deserts where fresh groceries become hard to find.
AI will soon predict what groceries to buy for customers
Walmart recently announced they’re developing AI technology that will predict when customers are going to run out of groceries and automatically reorder them. Combined with their In-Home Delivery Service, this means Walmart employees could potentially be restocking your refrigerator without you even knowing it. While some people might find this convenient, it raises serious questions about privacy and control over household purchasing decisions.
This technology would give Walmart unprecedented access to data about what families eat, when they eat it, and how much they consume. They’d know intimate details about household routines and could potentially use that information to influence purchasing decisions. The idea of a corporation having that level of insight into private family life feels like something out of a science fiction movie, but it’s becoming reality faster than most people realize.
The next time someone talks about Walmart’s “everyday low prices,” remember that those prices often come with hidden costs that aren’t reflected on the receipt. From market manipulation to questionable product quality, there’s clearly more going on behind those sliding glass doors than most shoppers realize. Understanding these practices can help families make more informed decisions about where and how they buy their groceries.
