27-05-2025
Walmart shoppers left stunned after realizing products have secret codes hidden within them
Shoppers have been left stunned after discovering hidden barcodes in Walmart's Great Value brand products.
A worker, known as beatsbycait on TikTok, showed off the invisible barcodes with a scanner in a recent video.
'Real ones know almost all great value items have hidden bar codes,' she captioned her clip.
The TikToker used the scanner on six different Great Value products, pointing it directly at the middle of each item rather than at a barcode.
The tech, which saves shoppers the time spent searching for barcodes on items at self checkout, was originally introduced in 2019, but many shoppers are still finding out about it to this day.
'As someone who worked for Walmart many years, please explain how?,' one TikToker wrote.
'I thought I was tripping,' another Walmart employee responded.
Invisible barcodes were also brought in to make it more difficult for shoplifters to steal items by pretending to scan them.
The invisible barcodes were first introduced to Walmart branded items in 2019 through the chain's partnership with Digimarc.
Digimarc barcodes are invisible to the naked eye, but are printed all over an item enabling it to be easily picked up by a self-checkout scanner.
'It's really cool how it's embedded in the art itself in each layer,' another person commented on the TikTok video.
Walmart began using the technology as a way to crack down on shoplifting at self-checkouts.
'It's to stop skip scanning. If they pass it over the scanner in any direction it scans,' another user wrote.
'Walmart is a forward-thinking technology leader with an unwavering focus on customer experience,' said Digimarc CEO Riley McCormack in 2022, when the company said it was extending its partnership with Walmart.
'We are thrilled to expand our partnership with them and look forward to sharing more details about this expansion in the coming months.'
Besides invisible barcodes, Walmart has added other gadgets to self-checkout machines in order to crack down on card skimming.
The tech, which saves shoppers the time spent searching for barcodes on items at self checkout, was originally brought in at Walmart in 2019
It also unveiled a $9 billion investment in-store makeovers, which is currently in its full rollout.
But the company has also been in hot water this month due to the removal of a popular perk and price hikes.
The company confirmed its plans to raise prices as the result of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump after meeting with him in April.
It also announced earlier this week that around 1,500 US jobs will be slashed due to a restructuring plan being implemented to cut expenses and simplify operations.
The layoffs will hit employees who work in its global technology operations, e-commerce fulfillment, and its ad sales division Walmart Connect.
In addition to the layoffs, Walmart shuttered its North Carolina office and is relocating workers to main hubs in California and Arkansas.
