The Walmart Rollback pricing strategy has no doubt been noticed by many customers who frequent the store. Walmart advertises its products that are part of the Rollback “sale” by prominently displaying signs that indicate “Rollback” and prominently displaying these items on aisle end caps and in other heavily-traveled locations throughout the store.

This sounds like business as usual for any retail outlet, with sale items being prominently displayed to entice consumers to make a purchase. However, some consumers have taken issue with the Walmart Rollback pricing strategy, stating that it is misleading and deceptive because it falsely advertises what is believed to be a sale price.

The idea behind the Walmart rolled back pricing strategy is to inform consumers that the items are being offered at a previous price that it was offered at in the past. The idea behind this pricing strategy is that consumers will believe that the prices that are “rolled back” represent a lower price than the item’s previous price. The Walmart Rollback price is supposed to be lower than the current pricing for the item.

The items that are targets of the Walmart Rollback pricing strategy may be products that are not selling as well as the retailer may have hoped, or may include products that are overstocked. There may be other reasons that Walmart identifies an item with the Rollback price.

Legal Action Targets Walmart Rollback Pricing Strategy

A class action lawsuit filed by a Walmart customer is targeting the Walmart Rollback pricing strategy employed by the company stating that the mega-retailer uses false original prices in its Rollback pricing scheme in order to entice customers to make purchases that they feel are a good deal. The plaintiff states that these Rollback prices, however, are false and deceptive in nature, using made-up original prices to create the illusion of a discount in Rollback advertisements.

In her proposed class-action lawsuit, plaintiff Brenna Ceja included pictures of advertisements for Walmart Rollbacks that show the original prices, or “Was” prices, were not the previous prices of the item. This made the Walmart Rollback pricing strategy appeared to customers like they were getting a good deal when they actually were not.

Ceja alleges in her lawsuit that “[t]hese purported discounts were false, however, because the referenced former retail prices were fabricated and did not represent Wal-Mart’s true original retail prices for the purportedly discounted items. Furthermore, the advertised ‘Was’ prices for Wal-Mart’s ‘roll-back’ discounted items were not the prevailing market retail prices within three months next immediately preceding the publication of the advertised former prices, as required by California law.”

California has some of the strictest advertising laws in the nation, requiring the advertised original price of an item to be the prevailing market price of that item for three months prior to the sale. All states have laws put in place that require retailers to be honest and fair to consumers with respect to transparency and the pricing of an item and related sales that pertain to the item.

Consumers in other states are beginning to question the Walmart Rollback pricing strategy following the filing of Ceja’s lawsuit. If you have purchased Walmart Rollback items under the assumption that the original and sale prices listed were genuine, you may be able to seek legal compensation if you were found to be the victim of false advertising. An attorney can consult with you to discuss details of your case for free.

The Walmart Rollback Pricing Strategy Class Action Lawsuit is Brenna Ceja v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 2:17-at-00427, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Join a Walmart ‘Rollback’ Sale Pricing Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you shop at Walmart and you purchased products that are part of a “Rollback” sale, you may qualify to join this Walmart class action lawsuit investigation.

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