A Target shopper named Patrice shared a detailed account on TikTok about finding a Mario backpack set for her son during a school supplies trip. The set included a lunchbox and water bottle. Unlike nearby JanSport backpacks that displayed clear price tags on the wall or items, she said this one had none. Patrice said she decided to check the price herself at a store kiosk by scanning the barcode. In her video, she described feeling happy when the kiosk showed a discounted price of $13.99 in red lettering, and the time was about 4:55 p.m. She said she placed the backpack in her cart and continued shopping, noting she now had extra money to spend because of the lower cost. In her video, Patrice stated, “I’m incredibly mad about it and I gotta tell you about it,” as she recounted the events that followed. At the register, she said the backpack was the first item scanned, and it came up as $27.99. Patrice said she told the cashier she had just checked it at $13.99, and the cashier scanned it a second time with the same result. No other price tags appeared on the bag after a search, she said. Patrice said she returned to the aisle, checked the wall for any price display, and scanned the barcode again at the same kiosk. This time it showed $27.99. Patrice describes the price change and her theory on timing Patrice called the experience a case of dynamic pricing happening in real time. She said the price of her item jumped by 50 percent in minutes. In the video’s caption, she wrote that if she had not checked the price by scanning the barcode beforehand, she never would have known. She added that she planned to follow up on the matter. The video gained 318,200 views, 21,000 likes, and more than 1,000 comments. @thefuturewiseoldwoman Dynamic pricing should be illegal! The price of my item jumped by 50% in MINUTES. If I wouldn’t have checked the price BY SCANNING THE BARCODE beforehand, I never would’ve known. I will be following up. #dynamicpricing#targetfinds ♬ original sound – Patrice Her theory was that the price changed after 5 p.m. She noted that she first scanned the item before 5 o’clock and reached the register afterward. She suggested the higher price appeared as more people finished work and began shopping. She said there was no permanent price tag on the bag or the wall, so the barcode scan was the only reference available. Patrice said Target would not catch her slipping again. She planned to return the next day before and after work to check whether the item would ring up at $13.99 and to test if the change happened at 5 o’clock. In a follow-up TikTok video, Patrice replied to a comment that suggested a worker had simply updated clearance items back to regular price using an app. The commenter said it was not a conspiracy or dynamic pricing. Patrice responded that dynamic pricing is 100 percent a real thing and that people only need to Google it. She explained that this practice is one reason clothing at Target or Walmart often carries no printed price, only a barcode. @thefuturewiseoldwoman Replying to @Rose ♬ original sound – Patrice She said companies began using the approach more after tariffs were announced because the cost to obtain items was changing every day. Instead of creating new physical price tags each time, she said stores moved to digital tags or barcodes that could be updated electronically. This practice of adjusting prices based on user data has been documented elsewhere, such as when a Minneapolis man tested whether apps charge people different prices for the same items. According to Patrice, this system lets companies set the price to whatever level makes the most money at different times of day. She stressed that dynamic pricing is not a conspiracy and that she was not trying to present it as one. She stated it is a real practice that companies use and urged viewers to look it up. She named Target, Walmart, and CVS as stores actively using it. Viewers responded with a range of reactions in the comment section. Some focused on practical steps for shoppers. One commenter wrote, “I always take pictures when the price is low because you’re not getting one over on me.” Another advised, “Record yourself scanning the item so you have proof.” A third said, “Leave the items and don’t buy them. This will stop stores from doing this if enough people do this.” Other comments addressed the broader practice. One stated, “Dynamic pricing should be illegal.” Another read, “This is what happens when you get rid of consumer protections. But hey, Kamala had a weird laugh, right?” Target is not the only store where pricing at the register can surprise shoppers, as a New York woman found berries ringing up higher than the listed price at Wegmans.