Walmart fixes glitch that led to ultra low prices
07 Nov 2013
Walmart has claimed to have resolved an issue that was causing an online frenzy among shoppers, as its website yesterday erroneously displayed items including computer monitors and projectors worth hundreds of dollars, for sale at $8.85.
A 24-inch high-definition Viewsonic computer monitor, an InFocus IN2124 Projector digital projectors and other products, were on offer for $8.85.
Walmart.com lists the projector at $578.89 and on Newegg.com it is listed at $579.99.
With customers sharing the deals on social media sites like Instagram, wondering if the site was hacked, products were sold out in hours.
According to Walmart, a technical error on its website erroneously led to super low prices on 6 November 2013.
According to a spokesman for the retailer, the company was scanning the millions of items on its site to check for any technical errors causing price discrepancies.
Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala told ABCNews.com, that the issue had been resolved and Walmart.com was open for all.
He added, given the wide discrepancy in pricing, the company was notifying customers who ordered these items that their orders had been cancelled.
Walmart denied that its site had been hacked, and according to Jariwala the company later discovered an internal technical error.
Though sales orders were not suspended, Jariwala said customers might have had trouble browsing the site while the problem was being fixed.
Last night, according to the company, the problem had been fixed and problematic orders would be cancelled. Along with full refund, buyers would get a $10 gift card.
In a concerted effort to push web sales the company had doubled the offerings on its website to 5 million items.