Throwback Thursday: Toys “R” Us Website Disaster

The year was 1999. Online commerce was hitting its stride and the dot com bubble was still growing. Amazon was beginning its ascent to the top of the food chain. As Americans began to embrace the idea of doing all of their holiday shopping online, more brick and mortar stores decided to expand their Internet presence.

Toys “R” Us began promoting their website in August of that year: $10 coupons advertising their website were given away in select stores. After a tremendous response, the toy company kicked off their 1999 holiday shopping season with the promise of free shipping for every online order. Tired parents eagerly embraced the idea of fulfilling their children’s wish lists with just a click of a button.

However, problems began to appear. Visiting Toysrus.com could be a slow, frustrating experience – when the website wasn’t offline completely. The Toys “R” Us website servers could not handle the large volume of visitors in such a short amount of time. Some toys featured in the annual Toys “R” Us catalog could not be found on the website.

As Christmas approached, a growing number of customers noticed that the status of their orders was still in limbo. Toys “R” Us assured its customers that any order with standard shipping placed by December 11 would arrive in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, customers complained that they were having a hard time finding assistance. The customer service hotline was plagued with long hold times; many emails to customer service went unanswered. The fulfillment center found itself overwhelmed with the sheer amount of orders to be fulfilled. Even the CEO had to lend a hand, packing boxes with the rest of the employees.

On December 22, Toys “R” Us admitted that some of its customers would not get their orders in time for Christmas. The unfortunate customers were offered $100 gift certificates in compensation, giving them three days to finish their Christmas shopping.

This story is an important lesson for businesses everywhere: never launch a new promotion without proper planning.