A man’s regular trip to Walmart with his kids turned into a viral moment after he noticed what he believed was someone secretly–or not so secretly–watching them in the toy aisle.
In a TikTok video that has now garnered 1.7 million views, user @bigbagspenny616 stated that he was shopping when he noticed a woman suddenly appear in the same aisle just moments after he let his kids out of the cart to look at toys.
“Do floorwalkers follow your children at Walmart?” he asked in the video. As the camera pans across the empty aisle, he picks up his children from the cart and lets them walk around. Then, within seconds, the video shows a woman standing nearby, looking at Hot Wheels matchbox cars.
“It always happens this fast,” he wrote in the captions. “I only looked down for a second. Notice how she’s standing right over my son watching him.”
What Is a Walmart Floor Walker?
When @bigbagspenny616 refers to “floorwalkers,” he’s likely talking about secret shoppers, employees who pose as regular customers to monitor store activity, test customer service, or watch for theft. Retail giants like Walmart and Target are known to use them to keep tabs on customer behavior despite consumer frustration.
Some shoppers claim that floorwalkers disproportionately target certain people based on racial or socioeconomic profiling.
Still, in this instance, there’s no concrete evidence that the woman shown was a secret shopper. She was looking at Matchbox cars so her presence could have been coincidental.
Commenters Are Divided
TikTok viewers were split on whether the woman was a concerned employee, a shopper, or something else entirely. Some users dismissed the claim as completely overblown.
“Or maybe she’s just a mom buying a Matchbox car for her son,” one commenter said.
“I think they are just regular shoppers,” another wrote.
Others believed the situation looked suspicious and backed @bigbagspenny616’s theory.
“If you notice her following you, ask her flat out why,” one user advised. “Tell her you have money to buy your stuff. If she keeps following you, call her out for being a floorwalker and demand they leave you alone. I do, and they DO NOT like it.”
@bigbagspenny616 Do Floorwalkers follow your children at Walmart? #floorwalker #walmart #secretshopper ♬ original sound – BigBagSpenny
The meme of it all
It’s also possible that @bigbagspenny616’s account is satirical. Many of his videos focus on “floor walkers,” showing various people casually shopping while he implies they are watching him. His TikTok bio even reads, “Invented the FLOORWALKER meme,” suggesting he may be playing into a viral joke or intentionally exaggerating everyday moments to fuel a running bit rooted in paranoia. Despite the fact that “floor walkers” are technically real, it’s possible that for @bigbagspenny616, they’re just other customers.
The Mary Sue has reached out to @bigbagspenny616 via TikTok direct message and Walmart for comment.
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