Target Responds After Company's Alleged Black Friday Scam Goes Viral
It’s no secret that Americans are struggling under “Bidenomics.”
That was made abundantly clear over the past week when numerous media outlets, including The Associated Press, noted how “hesitant shoppers” were struggling financially and were not particularly eager to leap into the fracas typically associated with the post-Thanksgiving shopping experience known as Black Friday.
“The customer is under pressure. You see it with what is going on in luxury. That is a recent development,” Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette told the AP.
It’s certainly not a good sign for the economy that consumers are dodging moderate savings on anything nonessential this holiday season — but one viral video is suggesting that hesitant customers might be dodging some scam-like “deals” as well.
Retail conglomerate Target has come under fire after a viral TikTok video seemed to suggest that the company was offering duplicitous “savings.”
In the viral video (it boasted more than 38 million “views” as of early Monday afternoon), someone — presumably poster DeJay Downey — is seen going around a Target store and looking to see what pricing was behind the “Black Friday” price labels.
Lo and behold, behind the “Black Friday” sale was a generic “Sale” tag that reflected the same price as the purportedly marked-down “Black Friday” price.
@djdowneygirl #deals ♬ original sound – DeJay Downey
Many angry social media users took this video to mean that Target was masquerading everyday sale prices with “Black Friday” deals that are supposed to be special price cuts.
The video swiftly exploded on social media and garnered coverage from TMZ and other outlets.
In fact, the issue became so rampant that on Monday, a Target representative provided an explanation of what people saw in the viral video.
“A recent TikTok video showed a guest questioning if there was a sale on three Samsung TVs that had both a Black Friday sale sign, as well as a sale sign behind it indicating the same price,” the representative told TMZ.
“In fact, the TVs were on sale before Black Friday as part of our early Black Friday sales. We continued to offer those items at the same discount during Black Friday, but updated the signage to reflect the extended timing.”
Interestingly, the Target rep seemed to acknowledge there was no discernible difference between a “Black Friday” sale and an “early Black Friday” sale.
“In both instances, guests would have saved the same amount, between $20-$80 depending on which TV they purchased. Those discounted prices compared to the regular prices are clearly shown in both sale signs in the video,” the person said.
“We know our guests are looking for flexibility when they shop holiday deals, which is why we began Black Friday deals in late October and will continue offering great discounts throughout the holiday season,” the representative continued. “We also offer a Price Match Guarantee, and will match the price of any item purchased by a guest that is offered at a lower price later in the season.”
From a PR standpoint, it’s been a rough go for the retail titan in the last six months.
Target came under fire in May when some of its stores were caught selling LGBT “pride” merchandise designed by someone who proudly flaunted an appreciation for Satan.
This month, The Western Journal exclusively reported on a distraught mother whom Target shipped a disturbing “extreme horror” novel rather than the book she ordered.
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