Best Buy website crashes during Black Friday sales
Customers are reporting connectivity problems with Best Buy's website on retail's most important day.
Just before 10:00am EST, more than 420 customers reported service disruptions on the platform, according to Down Detector. Complaints spiked again within less than half an hour to 1,875.
When the Daily Mail attempted to access the website before 11am, it displayed an error: 'We're sorry, something went wrong.'
According to a heat map of reported issues, shoppers on the East Coast are having the most problems.
The darkest red parts of Down Detector's maps — where the most complaints are submitted — are in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Chicago.
An outage couldn't have come at a worse time for the retailer: bargain-hunting Americans are expected to spend billions of dollars today, as giant chains lure shoppers with cost-cutting deals.
And so far, Americans are swiping their credit card more than expected ahead of the holidays.
Yesterday, US consumers spent $6.4billion on early bird specials, a 5.3 percent increase in Thanksgiving spending, according to Adobe Analytics.
Best Buy shoppers reported issues with the company's website on Black Friday
Best Buy's website displayed an error message when the Daily Mail attempted to log in around 11am EST
Best Buy is running dozens of specials on tech products today — including televisions, phones, and smartwatches.
Every Best Buy store is open today from 6am to 10pm local time.
Shoppers said the majority of issues were with Best Buy's website, while fewer than 10 percent said they were struggling to sign in to their accounts.
The company didn't immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
Best Buy's outage comes after the company recently beat earnings expectations.
In the last three months, the company raked in $9.7billion when Wall Street was predicting $9.6billion.
Corie Barry, the company's CEO, said the earnings were 'better-than-expected,' but also noted that Best Buy's shoppers are increasingly motivated by sales events, like Black Friday.
'Customers remain resilient, but deal-focused and attracted to more predictable sales moments,' Barry said on the earnings call.
Corie Barry, Best Buy's CEO, said the company recently saw better-than-expected sales as shoppers sought out money-saving deals
Shoppers are expected to break retail records during Black Friday - Best Buy's sales will run until 10pm local time at all stores
'While customers continued to be thoughtful about big ticket purchases in the current environment, they are willing to spend on high-priced point products when they need to or when there is technology innovation.'
Best Buy's Wall Street beat is similar to other major chains: several retailers who've reported sales this month said shoppers are trading down heading into the holiday season.
Last week, Walmart said it's seeing a spike in wealthier buyers, while Home Depot executives said fewer shoppers are spending on high-end home renovation projects.
'Our customers tell us that they remain on the sidelines due to uncertainty and perhaps the hesitation to make larger financial commitments amid an uncertain economic environment,' Home Depot's CFO, Richard McPhail, told the Wall Street Journal.
The reports come as Americans battle through at least 55 straight months of inflation above two percent.
