Coles Website Crashes After 80% Alcohol Discount Glitch on August 23

Coles’ website and app crashed on Saturday after a pricing glitch offered 24-packs of premixed alcoholic drinks at a nearly 80% discount. A Reddit post highlighting the error received over 180,000 views, sending shoppers into a buying frenzy. The retailer took its platforms offline for several hours, cancelled affected orders, and promised refunds to charged customers.

How the glitch unfolded

On Friday, an Australian Reddit account run by the operators of price-tracking website CW Scanner posted about Jack Daniel’s & Cola 24-packs marked down from A$130 to A$27 on Coles’ Liquorland subsidiary. The post asked “I’m assuming it’s a mistake?!” and urged users to buy before the error was noticed. Within hours, the post attracted over 180,000 views. Other users reported similar discounts on 46 ready-to-drink beverage packs and 20 beer packs, with average discounts of A$49 on beer and A$111 on other drinks. Some shoppers claimed they successfully collected purchases at the discounted prices before the error was fixed.

Website outages and order cancellations

Coles’ website and app went offline on Saturday morning, displaying a message stating “we’re currently offline but not for long”. Services briefly returned in the afternoon before going down again. The platforms came back online at approximately 4pm AEST, with beer and premixed drinks categories temporarily removed. By Saturday afternoon, multiple Reddit users reported that Coles had cancelled their orders placed at the discounted prices.

Coles’ response and refund commitment

A Coles spokesperson confirmed on Saturday that select 24-pack beer and ready-to-drink products were incorrectly priced due to a technical error. The company said it had corrected the pricing and was notifying affected customers. Any customers charged for the affected items will be refunded in accordance with Coles’ normal refund process. The retailer apologised for the error and any inconvenience caused.

Stock impact and valuation

Coles Group (COL.AX) fell 1.98% to A$22.82 on the day of the incident. Meyka grades the stock a B with a neutral recommendation, citing a high PE ratio of 30.03 and weak valuation metrics. The 12-month forecast sits at A$22.98, suggesting limited upside from current levels. The technical indicator RSI stands at 36.38, indicating oversold conditions, while CCI at -133.79 also signals oversold territory.

Final Thoughts

The pricing glitch exposed gaps in Coles’ online systems and damaged customer trust through order cancellations. With Meyka grading COL.AX a B and the stock trading near its 12-month forecast, investors should monitor whether the incident affects quarterly earnings due August 25.

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