Coles Website Crashes After Viral Reddit Post Exposes Massive Pricing Error
The Coles website and mobile app experienced widespread outages over the weekend after a viral Reddit post exposed a major technical glitch that allowed customers to purchase 24-packs of alcoholic beverages at deep discounts of nearly 80%.
The chaos began on Friday when an Australian Reddit account—operated by the team behind price-tracking platform CW Scanner—shared screenshots of significant markdowns. The post highlighted 24-packs of Jack Daniel’s & Cola being sold for just $27, down from their usual price of $130.
The exposure triggered a digital frenzy as deal-seekers rushed to the retailer’s online portal. According to the operators of CW Scanner, the original post garnered over 180,000 views, with many users reporting successful orders. Some customers even managed to have the online prices matched at physical local liquor stores.
A Glitch of Massive Proportions
CW Scanner’s investigation revealed that the issue was not limited to a single product. Data indicated that at least 20 varieties of beer and 46 types of premixed drinks were affected. In one extreme instance, 24-packs of Smirnoff Crush were marked down to $29, reflecting a staggering saving of $173 against the standard $202 price tag.
By Saturday morning, the surge in traffic and order volume forced the Coles website and app offline. A maintenance message appeared, stating, “we’re currently offline – but not for long.” While the site flickered back to life intermittently, the beer and premixed drink categories had been entirely scrubbed from the platform, and the site eventually collapsed again.
Coles Responds to Cancellations
By Saturday afternoon, customers began reporting that their orders had been unilaterally cancelled by the supermarket giant.
In a formal statement, a Coles spokesperson confirmed the company was aware of the technical failure. “Due to a technical error, select 24-pack beer and RTD [ready-to-drink] products were incorrectly priced on our website,” the spokesperson said. “The error has been corrected, and impacted customers are being notified. Any customers charged for the affected items will be refunded in accordance with our normal refund process. We apologise for the error and any inconvenience caused.”
A History of Pricing Scrutiny
The incident arrives at a sensitive time for major Australian retailers. Earlier this year, a federal court case determined that some of Coles’ famous "Down Down" promotions were misleading, falsely convincing customers that they were receiving legitimate price reductions.
While the weekend’s events were characterized by the retailer as an unintentional technical error rather than a deceptive marketing campaign, the incident has reignited public conversation regarding the reliability and transparency of supermarket pricing structures across the country.
