The "Walmart Method" on TikTok Is All About Getting Stuff for Cheap — Or Free

We can all agree that the price of food is through the roof (did you see the $45 pack of steak from Publix?!), and stocking your fridge and cabinets feels nearly impossible these days. Even after dropping a cool $250 a week, it’s still not enough to have your cabinets fully loaded with options. Point blank, people are tired of spending hundreds of dollars a month and still coming up short, so they’ve started looking for workarounds to beat the rising costs at stores like Walmart.

Folks have dubbed these strategies the “Walmart Method,” and there are actually a few different “methods” people have come up with and are sharing on TikTok. But not all of them are legit, and some might even be illegal. We’re breaking it down for you here.

The "Walmart method" on TikTok refers to hacks people are using to get grocery items from Walmart at a cheaper price, or for free. But there are different “methods” people are trying, and it’s important to know which ones are worth trying and which ones you should steer clear of.

Let’s start with one shared by TikToker @reallorries, who shows a pile of Walmart groceries estimated to be worth over $100. In the video’s text overlay, she writes, “The Walmart Method hit harder than the food stamps.”

In the comments, one person asked what the Walmart method even is, and another explained that it involves placing a Walmart order, either pickup or delivery, and then initiating a return once you receive it, claiming that some items were missing from your bag. Essentially, the idea is to say you didn’t receive all or most of your order so that Walmart refunds you, and you get to keep the items.

If you’ve never initiated a return through the Walmart app after a delivery or pickup, Walmart asks for a reason for your return. If you choose an option like “wrong item” or “expired,” the app usually doesn’t require you to bring the item back to the store. If you mark it as opened, they’re even less likely to ask for a return. But if you select “missing,” there’s nothing to return, so you could potentially keep both the item and the refund.

That said, this carries serious risks. First, you’re lying, which could get you banned from the app, or worse. Second, the more people who do it, the more likely Walmart is to modify its policies to prevent losses. That’s one “Walmart method” going around on TikTok, but there’s another one, too.

Now, there’s another Walmart Method going around, and it could potentially be a scam. TikToker @realdarlenex shared a video showcasing several Walmart items with the same text overlay as @reallorries’s. In the comments of the video, which has over 2 million views as of this writing, someone asked about the Walmart Method, and @realdarlenex replied that they had a pinned video explaining it.

On their TikTok account, another video claims that if you go to walgrab.com and click “claim,” you’ll be prompted to complete five deals and then receive a voucher, presumably to shop at Walmart. While we didn’t visit the site for obvious reasons, a quick Google search on walgrab.com led to a ScamAdvisor result, which states the site has been scanned and is presumed to be a scam.

Although @realdarlenex’s video has commenters saying they’ve used it, don’t be so quick to jump on the bandwagon. Scammers are clever and can easily create TikTok accounts to comment on the video, making the method look legit. What’s also suspicious is that @realdarlenex’s TikTok only has a handful of videos, all centered around the Walmart method.

Needless to say, proceed with caution. Instead of risking your personal information on a potentially fake site, try safer ways to save money, like searching for clearance food items in the Walmart app or visiting your store’s clearance section (yes, they usually have one). This way you save money without doing something illegal or unsafe.