Shoppers looking for a bargain got some big ones, if only temporarily, at Walmart.com on Wednesday morning.
A technical glitch on Walmart’s US website offered some items at a fraction of their actual retail price. Treadmills, which normally cost hundreds of dollars, were priced at $33.16 (R339). LCD computer monitors were offered for $9.
Ravi Jariwala, a spokesman for Walmart.com, said late on Wednesday afternoon that the problem had been fixed and that the mistakenly priced orders would not be honoured.
“Given the wide discrepancy in pricing, we are notifying customers who ordered these items that their orders have been cancelled and that they’ll be refunded in full,” he said. The shoppers would also receive a $10 gift card.
The company did not say how many orders were placed at the low prices. Most of the affected products were electronic devices, Jariwala said.
The glitch comes at the start of what analysts say will be a particularly competitive holiday season.
Walmart kicked off its online holiday deals on November 1, a month earlier than usual. The earlier deals come after data firm ShopperTrak forecast the slowest holiday sales growth since 2009.
“This is particularly disappointing since Walmart has been investing aggressively in e-commerce in the last two years,” Brian Sozzi at Belus Capital Advisors said. – Reuters