A customer has revealed he had the ‘worst checkout experience’ after shopping at a Walmart store in California.
A customer named Victor explained that he was shopping in an X-Series for the first time in eight years at a Walmart in Panorama City, Los Angeles, California. after on December 8.
The first thing that came up was that the California location didn’t accept mobile payments, which he said was “absurd.”
‘The lines were as long as the entire store. Even for self-checkout. I’ll never go back there!’ Victor added.
Following Victor’s post, several other social media users pointed out that Apple Pay is not a viable payment option at any of the Walmart locations in the country.
“Walmart Not Accepting Apple Pay Is the Biggest Unforced Mistake in American Business History,” Says an X User wrote.
“You’d think Walmart would adopt Apple Pay in 2024,” said another X user whimpered.
“You’d think Walmart would adopt Apple Pay in 2024,” said a third person tweeted.
A social media user named Victor was frustrated after his Walmart trip, insisting it was ‘absurd’ that the store didn’t accept mobile payments
Victor claimed it was the first time he had visited a Walmart location in eight years
Another X user wrote: ‘Walmart needs to hurry up and accept Apple Pay like wtf.’
Despite Victor’s payment complaint, the retailer is allowing shoppers to complete mobile payments through Walmart Pay, which explains the company’s ban on Apple Pay.
“Walmart doesn’t offer mobile payments like Apple Pay because they have their own Walmart Pay system that they prefer to customers,” retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data explained to DailyMail.com.
“Not offering popular payment systems is inconvenient for some customers and makes Walmart a hurdle as most other retailers allow mobile payments.”
Saunders added that the decision not to offer other mobile payment methods did not appear to hurt Walmart as it is still “the largest retailer in both the US and the world.”
“Customers shop at Walmart primarily for low prices and convenience, so most are likely willing to overlook the lack of mobile payment solutions,” Saunders said.
And despite the backlash over payment methods, the retailer has shown no signs of changing its mind.
“We would like customers to continually open our app in-store,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said of Apple Pay in its stores last April.
Like Victor, several X users were frustrated that Walmart stores across the country had no mobile payment options other than Walmart Pay
In addition to voicing complaints about the lack of Apple Pay, consumers also complained that Walmart stores in the US do not accept Google Pay either.
“I’m a little angry at @Walmart and @SamsClub because people don’t have the option to pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay right now. Please update!’ an X user wrote.
While American shoppers are out of luck, some Twitterers north of the border brought up how shoppers can use Apple Pay to make purchases at Walmart locations in Canada.
One customer posted one video of them pay for items with Apple Pay at any of the Canadian locations.
Despite not being available at Walmart locations nationwide, more than 85 percent of U.S. retailers accept Apple Pay, which can be used through iPhones, Apple Watches or iPads.
US retailers started accepting payments via Google Pay in 2018 after Google merged with Google Wallet and Android Pay.
Google Pay has been popular for quite some time and is still a well-known payment method, even though the standalone app was discontinued in the US in June 2024.
However, by the time Google Pay users switched to Google Wallet, it found that only four percent of US adults were still using the app in early 2024. YouGov.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon explained that the company wants customers to “always be open through our in-store app.”
Apple device owners were first allowed to pay for items with Apple Pay in 2014
Google Pay is still available for use in Canada, but unlike Apple Pay, shoppers cannot use it to pay at Walmart locations.
Although Walmart confirmed that it generated less sales than usual during the holiday season, the company reported a 5.5 percent increase in sales in the last quarter.
Global e-commerce sales also rose 27 percent and financial forecasts for the remainder of 2024 were increased.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Walmart for comment on Victor’s checkout experience.