Here's How Much A Wal-Mart Pay Increase Would Cost Shoppers Per Trip

Walmart Media RelationsWal-Mart said last week that it would halt plans to open stores in D.C. because of a minimum-wage hike that would mandate a minimum hourly pay of $12.50.

Executives said the pay increase would drive up prices for consumers.

So how much would a higher minimum wage cost shoppers at Walmart?

About 46 cents per trip, reports Caroline Fairchild at The Huffington Post.

That figure is based on a 2011 study by CUNY's Stephanie Luce and University of California Berkeley's Ken Jacobs and Dave Graham-Squire.

"Even if Walmart decided to pass 100 percent of the cost on to customers, store prices would still only increase by 1.1%," Fairchild writes.

Because the average customer spends $1,200 per year, that would amount to about $12 annually.

A Walmart spokesperson said that anyone who thought price increases would be small had "limited understanding of how a business operates."