Coupang's Pricing Error Leads to Surge in Orders
Tens of Thousands Rush to Buy After Discount News Spreads on SNS
Due to a price entry error on Coupang, a product was sold at a much lower price than intended, leading to a surge of orders in the middle of the night.
On the 21st, an incident occurred on the Coupang sales site where a 36-pack of Yukgaejang bowl noodles was sold at a price about 80% lower than usual. Coupang
According to the retail industry on May 22, at around 11 p.m. the previous day, a 36-pack of Yukgaejang bowl noodles was listed for 5,040 won on the Coupang sales site. The price per unit was 140 won. This is about 80% cheaper than the usual price of 27,000 to 28,000 won.
Coupang restored the price to normal within about 10 minutes, but tens of thousands of orders had already been placed during that time. News of Coupang's "super special discount" spread rapidly through online communities and social networking services (SNS). Numerous posts appeared on various SNS platforms, with users sharing proof that they had ordered hundreds of Yukgaejang bowl noodles.
In an online community for delivery drivers and logistics industry workers, posts appeared stating, "I've been delivering only Yukgaejang all day."
According to Coupang, the incident occurred due to an error in setting the sales price per unit. It is reported that Coupang suffered losses amounting to several hundred million won due to this pricing mistake.
However, Coupang stated that, since the incident was caused by its own mistake, it would proceed with normal delivery for orders that could be fulfilled from existing stock. In addition, for customers whose orders were canceled due to stock shortages, Coupang provided Coupang Cash equivalent to the order amount.
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