Lowe’s Sneaks Additional ‘Required’ Items Into Online Carts, Class Action Alleges

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Lowe’s faces a proposed class action that alleges the home improvement retailer will deceptively sneak a purportedly “required” item into a consumer’s online cart for certain purchases and force them to affirmatively remove it.

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The 13-page suit says Lowe’s utilizes this so-called “sneak into basket” or “expanded shopping cart” tactic amid a consumer’s purchasing journey to essentially increase the retailer’s average order value (AOV), which measures the average gross revenue of all orders over a certain period of time.

The case calls this maneuver, in its most basic form, “an aggressive and deceptive form of cross-selling,” relying on either the inaction of a consumer to remove an additional item from their shopping cart or the buyer simply not noticing that another product has been added to their purchase before the transaction is complete. 

As an example, the lawsuit points out that a consumer who buys through the Lowe’s website a General Electric-brand stackable front-load washing machine will see the letter “i” within a circle, the universal “more information” symbol. Next to this symbol is stated, “These items are necessary for your appliance to function properly,” with the item at issue being a stainless steel washing machine connector hose costing roughly $35, according to the complaint. 

The case contends that not only does the Lowe’s website force a customer to remove this purportedly required item, but the washing machine in fact already comes with this water hose, “such that it is not required to spend almost $35 extra beyond the roughly $1,000 washer.” 

“Upon information and belief, Defendant’s website employs ‘sneak into basket’ across a variety of items, and in many of those instances, the ‘required’ items are only there to increase the [average order value], boosting its profits,” the lawsuit alleges. 

According to the suit, the plaintiff purchased the aforementioned GE washing machine from Lowe’s sometime last year and “either did not notice the added water hose” upon check-out or, alternatively, noticed it and saw that it was purportedly required for use of the machine. 

“Plaintiff had no reason to be suspicious of the ancillary items Lowes [sic] would add to her shopping cart, especially in light of the high dollar value of her purchase and the relatively small amount of the added water hose,” the suit contends, claiming the consumer realized she was “tricked into paying for” the water hose when she received the washing machine. 

Had Lowe’s not attempted to sneak the hose and other unnecessary items into the plaintiff and other consumers’ shopping carts, they would not have bought the products, the filing stresses. 

The lawsuit looks to cover certain Lowe’s shoppers in Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. 

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