Coles Shares Fall 3.1% After Alcohol Pricing Glitch Crashes Website

Coles Group’s website and app went offline on Saturday after a viral Reddit post exposed a pricing error on alcohol, with 24-packs of Jack Daniel’s & Cola marked down from A$130 to A$27. The outage lasted several hours, and the company subsequently cancelled affected orders. The incident compounds pressure on Coles ahead of Tuesday’s full-year earnings announcement, with shares already down 3.1% last week.

How the pricing glitch spread online

On Friday, an Australian Reddit account run by price-tracking website CW Scanner posted about the discount, writing “Found this. I’m assuming it’s a mistake?!” The post received over 180,000 views by midday Saturday. Other users reported similar discounts on premixed drinks and beer, with a Smirnoff 24-pack reduced to A$29 from A$202. Shoppers began placing orders before the error was corrected.

Website crashes under traffic surge

The sudden demand overwhelmed Coles’ digital infrastructure. Both the website and app displayed an offline message for several hours on Saturday morning. When services briefly returned on Saturday afternoon, the beer and ready-to-drink categories had been removed from the site. The website went offline again before coming back online around 4pm AEST. Coles confirmed the pricing error and said it was working to restore services.

Orders cancelled and refunds issued

Coles stated that “due to a technical error, select 24-pack beer and RTD products were incorrectly priced.” The company cancelled orders placed at the discounted rates and notified affected customers. Any shoppers who were charged for the items will receive refunds. The exact financial impact has not been disclosed, but the incident highlights the vulnerability of online retail systems to viral bargain-hunting.

Timing adds pressure before earnings

The glitch arrives one day before Coles reports full-year FY26 earnings on Tuesday, August 25. Coles shares fell 3.1% last week, erasing A$965 million in market value. Meyka rates the stock a B- with a neutral recommendation, citing weak valuations on price-to-earnings (31.24x) and price-to-book (7.86x) ratios. The stock closed Friday at A$22.82. Analyst consensus shows only a 4.2% upside from that level, suggesting limited margin for disappointment in Tuesday’s results.

Final Thoughts

The alcohol pricing glitch tests investor confidence in Coles’ digital operations at a critical moment. With shares already down 3.1% and earnings due Tuesday, the retailer faces questions on both system reliability and consumer spending trends in a competitive supermarket market.

FAQs

Disclaimer:

The content shared by Meyka AI PTY LTD is solely for research and informational purposes.  Meyka is not a financial advisory service, and the information provided should not be considered investment or trading advice.