Online fashion retailer Outnet showed that sometimes an online marketing campaign can be a little too successful when it launched a £1 sale last week.
Massive hype surrounded last Friday’s giveaway which began just before 7.30am and according to the company resulted in nine orders a second being racked up through the electronic checkout. Dresses and accessories from designers such as Givenchy and Stella McCartney were included in the sale, all priced at just £1 each.
But the success of the online marketing campaign by Outnet and the desire of the UK’s fashion hunters to grab a bargain led to the company’s website caving in under the pressure and crashing for many would-be shoppers.
According to Vogue, the sale was hailed as a success despite the number of people left disappointed.
A statement by Outnet said: “Whilst we were prepared for the volume of traffic the sale would deliver, we were overwhelmed by the speed at which people came to the site.
“This remarkable volume – up to nine orders a second – led the site to crash in some markets and I want to say that we are very sorry to all those disappointed people who didn’t get to buy anything at the sale, but delighted for all of those who did.”