1 week ago
Coles Website and App Crash After Viral Alcohol Pricing Glitch
Coles accidentally showed very low prices for some alcoholic drinks online.
One example was a 24-pack of Jack Daniel’s & Cola for $27 instead of about $130.
Someone shared the deal on Reddit, and the post spread quickly.
Many people tried to buy the drinks before the prices changed.
So many shoppers visited Coles’ website and app that both services stopped working for several hours.
People are unsure whether the low prices were a real promotion or a computer mistake.
Coles has not yet said how many discounted orders it will accept.
The event shows how quickly an online deal can attract thousands of shoppers.
Coles’ website and app were offline for several hours on Saturday.
A viral post highlighted 24-packs of Jack Daniel’s & Cola for $27.
The discounted packs normally retail for around $130, nearly 80% higher.
The Reddit post attracted about 184,000 views by midday.
Coles has not explained the pricing issue or confirmed which orders will be fulfilled.
- Who
- Coles shoppers, Coles, Liquorland, and the team behind CW Scanner were involved.
- What
- A viral alcohol-pricing glitch was followed by a several-hour outage of Coles’ website and app.
- Where
- The incident affected Coles’ online platforms in Australia.
- When
- The disruption occurred for several hours on Saturday; the Reddit post had reached about 184,000 views by midday.
- Why
- A viral post about unusually steep discounts prompted a surge of shoppers trying to place orders.
Discounts May Have Been Genuine
Discounts May Have Been Pricing Errors
What caused the low prices?
Discounts May Have Been Genuine
Some shoppers treated the unusually low prices as promotions and attempted to buy the products before they sold out.
Discounts May Have Been Pricing Errors
Others questioned whether the prices resulted from an error in Coles’ digital pricing system; Coles has not publicly confirmed the cause.
Will orders be honored?
Discounts May Have Been Genuine
Shoppers who placed orders at the displayed prices may expect those purchases to be completed.
Discounts May Have Been Pricing Errors
The article notes that retailers typically reserve the right to cancel incorrectly priced orders under their terms and conditions, while Coles has not explained how it will handle these transactions.
Key facts
- Affected services
- The Coles website and app
- Subsidiary involved
- Liquorland
- Example product
- 24-pack of Jack Daniel’s & Cola
- Displayed price
- $27
- Usual retail price
- Around $130
- Reddit post views
- About 184,000 by midday
- Order status
- It remains unclear how many discounted orders will be fulfilled
Quotes
CW Scanner Reddit user
A Reddit user associated with the price-tracking website CW Scanner who reported the apparent discount.
“Found this. I’m assuming it’s a mistake?! Go get it before it runs out (or they notice) I guess.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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