The frankly terrifying future of shopping has arrived: Target is officially stripping prices off its clothing tags, confirming the fears many customers and employees have had for months. A viral Reddit post recently surfaced showing tags for shirts and jeans at the big box retailer that had all the usual product details, but completely omitted the cost. This move is stirring up major complaints and fueling speculation that we’re about to see dynamic pricing jump from the online world right into our physical stores.
If you’re wondering why a major retailer would suddenly start treating prices like a mystery, you need to look back to September. That’s when Target workers first started warning people that they were being instructed to remove prices from tags. Soon after, items began arriving at stores already lacking any price information.
One TikToker, @kaitlinsonday, claimed this entire operation was designed to pave the way for prices to change moment to moment. She voiced a reaction I think we can all agree with, saying, “We’re not gonna see any price tags of anything because then that means they can fluctuate the prices without us literally knowing.”
This practice, known as dynamic pricing, isn’t new to the digital world
Dynamic pricing has been standard online for years, where algorithms constantly adjust prices based on demand, inventory, and even the weather. Back in 2019, customers testing the Target app even found evidence that prices would change the very second they stepped inside a physical store. Now, it seems the company is ready to fully embrace this model in person.
This shift toward reduced transparency feels like another step in a trend aimed at extracting more money from shoppers rather than drawing them in with the promise of the lowest possible price. This past July, for example, Target quietly ended the price-matching policy it had implemented back in 2013 specifically to compete against giants like Amazon and Walmart. It seems like the focus has completely changed from being competitive to being highly profitable, no matter the cost to the customer experience.
Target No Longer Prices Their Clothes
byu/bluelily216 inmildlyinfuriating
The immediate reaction from shoppers is overwhelmingly negative, as is the case with recent examples of enshittification everywhere. As one customer, u/FrostScraper, complained in a Reddit thread, “Even the scanner on the app is saying ‘scan at checkout’ sometimes!! Like, if I’m in the store, using YOUR APP, why is the price a mystery?!”
The lack of clear pricing is leading to frustrating and expensive surprises at the register, similar to the AI pricing fiasco on Instacart. One shopper, u/petoftheweek, shared a perfect example of this bait-and-switch. “They got me with this!” the customer reported. “Buying some men’s pants. No price on the tag, sign above said $40. More than I wanted to pay, but whatever. They rang up at $65! I just said screw it and told the worker I didn’t want them.”
Judging by the customer backlash, reducing price transparency may seriously backfire on Target, especially since the retailer is already dealing with declining quarterly earnings. Many shoppers are already vowing to simply walk away from items without clear tags. “Idk about anyone else, but this would just make me not want to buy them?” wrote u/obog. “Like if I cant see a price tag im just gonna put it back more likely than not. Surely this would hurt their sales?”
Another user, u/Loud-Chicken6046, was even more definitive, declaring, “Anything without a price on it doesn’t get purchased.” If enough people follow that advice, Target is going to see a lot of items left in the aisles.
Published: Jan 5, 2026 01:30 pm