Walmart, the world‘s largest retailer by revenue, has an ironclad grip on the wallets of budget-conscious shoppers worldwide. With nearly 11,500 stores across 28 countries and ecommerce websites in 10 countries, Walmart is a force to be reckoned with in the retail industry. In 2021 alone, Walmart generated over $559 billion in revenue, solidifying its position as a retail behemoth.
But even a giant like Walmart isn‘t immune to the challenges posed by resellers and automated bots scooping up limited-stock products. In recent years, coveted gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been prime targets for bots and resellers looking to make a quick buck by flipping the products on third-party marketplaces.
The numbers paint a grim picture for the average consumer hoping to snag one of these high-demand items. A report from Security.org found that bots account for a staggering 39% of all traffic to retail login pages, with the goal of breaking through to complete lightning-fast purchases of limited-stock products. During one PS5 restock event, a reseller group claimed their bots secured over 3,500 consoles for resale, leaving a pittance for actual human customers.
To combat this issue and give legitimate shoppers a fighting chance, Walmart implemented a unique "Press and Hold" feature on product pages for items like the PS5 and Xbox Series X. But how does this feature actually work, and more importantly – how can you get around it to secure that coveted console? Let‘s dive in.
Inside Walmart‘s Press and Hold Feature
First introduced in 2020 on the Walmart website and app, the Press and Hold feature appears as an extra step during the purchase process for certain high-demand, limited-stock items prone to being bought up by bots and resellers. When a shopper clicks the "Add to Cart" button for one of these products, instead of the item being added to their cart instantly, they are presented with a Press and Hold button that must be manually clicked and held down for several seconds before the "Add to Cart" action can be completed.
The Press and Hold button is essentially a CAPTCHA test designed to verify that the potential buyer is a human, not a bot. Similar to image-based CAPTCHA tests that require identifying pictures of crosswalks or stop signs, the extended physical press aims to be an action that bots and automated scripts can‘t easily mimick.
Walmart has remained tight-lipped on the specifics of how their Press and Hold technology works, not wanting to give bot makers any insights they could potentially leverage to break the system. In a statement to tech outlet CNET, Walmart said the feature "helps us filter out bots and resellers so we can offer more inventory to our customers."
But while the feature may have been implemented with good intentions, the reality is that many shoppers have found Press and Hold to be glitchy, inconsistent, and frustrating to deal with. Customers have reported a slew of issues with the feature, including:
- Pressing and holding the button for the required time, but getting kicked back to the product page without the item being added to cart
- Website and app crashes or errors in the middle of the Press and Hold process
- Successfully getting through Press and Hold, only to find the item is sold out after reaching the checkout page
- Inconsistencies in the amount of time needed to press the button, ranging from 10 seconds to over a minute
On Walmart‘s website and social media pages, complaints about Press and Hold are easy to find:
"Walmart‘s press and hold button is absolutely useless. I‘ve been trying to get a PS5 for months and no matter how many times I press and hold, I always get an error message." – @JohnnyGamer87, Twitter
"The Press & Hold button on the Walmart app is just a spinning wheel of death. It‘s infuriating to sit there holding down the button only to have the app crash and kick me out. Awful user experience." – u/PS5dreams, Reddit
Clearly, Press and Hold has room for improvement in terms of functionality and user-friendliness. But until Walmart smooths out the glitches, what can shoppers do to maximize their chances of bypassing the dreaded button and securing their desired product? Let‘s explore some tips and tricks.
Tips for Beating the Press and Hold Button
While there‘s no surefire hack for bypassing Press and Hold every time, there are certain steps shoppers can take to tilt the odds in their favor:
-
Use the mobile app instead of the website. For whatever reason, many customers have noted that using the Walmart app to make their Press and Hold purchase attempts yields better results than the website. The app interface for Press and Hold uses a circular progress bar you fill up by holding down, which seems to be more stable and reliable than the website version.
-
Ensure you have a strong, stable internet connection. A spotty WiFi signal or weak mobile data connection could cause your Press and Hold attempt to fail or glitch out. If possible, connect to a wired ethernet connection for the strongest, fastest connectivity.
-
Have your payment and shipping information pre-saved. Seconds count when trying to check out after getting through Press and Hold. Don‘t let a slow entry of your credit card info be the reason you miss out – make sure you‘re logged into your Walmart account with a default payment method and shipping address ready to go.
-
Be prepared to keep trying. Unfortunately, getting past Press and Hold is often a game of persistence. You may need to refresh the page and re-attempt the button multiple times before finding success. Go in knowing you‘ll likely need to spend several minutes in a Press and Hold fight.
-
Follow restock tracking accounts for the best times to try. Certain Twitter and Facebook accounts are dedicated to sending out alerts the moment a PS5 or Xbox Series X restock happens at Walmart. Following these accounts and turning on notifications can help you jump on a restock as soon as it‘s live.
Inside Walmart‘s Restock Process
Walmart‘s process for restocking high-demand items like gaming consoles is intentionally murky to discourage bots and resellers from having a field day. Unlike other retailers who may announce restock times and dates in advance, Walmart drops inventory with minimal notice, often in small batches at a time.
Tom‘s Guide, a tech publication that closely tracks PS5 and Xbox Series X restocks, has identified some patterns in Walmart‘s inventory drops. Restocks most commonly happen on Thursdays, typically in the afternoon or early evening. However, Walmart has been known to restock on other days of the week too, making relying on a set schedule impossible.
Walmart also tends to release consoles in waves, spacing out restocks every 10 or 15 minutes over the span of a few hours rather than putting all available inventory up for grabs at once. This approach aims to trip up bots programmed to swarm the site the second a restock happens.
Shoppers hoping to grab a console should be prepared to keep refreshing the product page and attempting Press and Hold for an extended period of time, as a single restock event could last hours with multiple waves of inventory.
Other Ways to Buy from Walmart
For shoppers who have been burned by Press and Hold one too many times, there are alternative ways to try to buy high-demand products from Walmart.
In-Person Purchases
Although online restocks have become the norm, some physical Walmart locations do still receive limited stock of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles that are sold in-store on a first-come, first-served basis. The key is being first in line (or close to it) when your store opens on the day they receive inventory.
Following your local Walmart store‘s Facebook and Twitter pages is a good way to get a heads up if they announce an in-store restock ahead of time. You can also try contacting your store‘s customer service or electronics department directly to ask about any upcoming in-store availability.
If you do manage to find out about an in-store restock, be prepared to arrive at the store extremely early and wait in line, as consoles are sure to sell out quickly. Many hopeful buyers choose to line up outside the store the night before a rumored restock to secure their spot at the front of the line.
Walmart+ Membership Early Access
In 2021, Walmart launched its Walmart+ membership program, which offers perks like free shipping and discounts on fuel to subscribers. More recently, Walmart has experimented with giving Walmart+ members exclusive early access to console restocks.
During a Walmart+ early access restock, the Press and Hold button is often disabled entirely, giving members an edge over the general public. The membership costs $98 per year or $12.95 per month, which could be a worthwhile investment for those dead-set on snagging a console.
However, even Walmart+ members aren‘t immune to website glitches and crashing during early access restocks. During a particularly disastrous Walmart+ PS5 drop in June 2022, the site crashed for many paid subscribers and no one was able to complete their purchase.
Walmart Affiliate Retailers
Sometimes third-party retailers who sell products through Walmart‘s online marketplace will have PS5 or Xbox Series X stock available to purchase. While not technically sold by Walmart itself, you can still find and buy the products with a "Sold and Shipped by [Retailer Name]" badge on Walmart‘s website and app.
Checking the "Retailers" tab on the PS5 or Xbox Series X product page will show you any third-party sellers that currently have stock available. Be aware that many of these sellers will mark up prices well above MSRP, so be prepared to pay a premium.
Some of the most prominent Walmart affiliate retailers for gaming consoles include:
- ANTOnline
- GO2GAMES
- DealTavern
- Nationwide Distributor
Walmart‘s Bottom Line on Bots
Walmart‘s cat-and-mouse game with inventory-scooping bots is just one battle in the larger war retailers are waging against automated resellers. In a statement to The Verge, Walmart spokesperson Ravi Jariwala said the company "is committed to ensuring our customers have access to the items they want and are working hard to find solutions that ensure a positive shopping experience."
But with bots accounting for 10-15% of Walmart‘s web traffic on a typical day, and up to 95% of traffic during hyped product launches, the problem shows no signs of slowing down. The profit potential for resellers is simply too high, with one UK-based scalper group claiming they made over $7 million in 2020 by flipping PS5 consoles.
For the average shopper, the prevalence of bots means jumping through increasingly complex hoops like Press and Hold or paying for subscription-based retailer services to have a shot at high-demand products. And even with precautions in place, there are no guarantees.
At the end of the day, the onus falls on retailers like Walmart to find effective solutions that don‘t put the burden on legitimate customers. Whether that‘s continuing to iterate on ideas like Press and Hold, developing new CAPTCHA technology, or simply producing more inventory to meet demand is an open question.
But until then, shoppers will have to keep hammering away at the Press and Hold button, crossing their fingers that they‘ll be the lucky one to break through the glitches and bots to finally bring that PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X home. The retail battle royale for these consoles rages on, one press and hold at a time.
