Missguided website crashes due to demand after cut-price offer sparks online rush

'If you do an offer, make sure your website can handle it'

(Rex Features)

The women's fashion website Missguided has crashed after running a low-price special offer, prompting a wave of complaints from customers.

The retailer prides itself on offering "cheap clothing for women", but was unable to handle the volume of customers trying to take advantage of the sale.

A message on the website told those who were unable to access the shopping pages to "keep trying", and some customers said they were left refreshing the page for hours.

An angry backlash on social media later led the UK brand to issue an apology, and a spokesperson said the sale offer would be extended.

Twitter user Donald Earl said: "Can you kindly let us know when this will be extended till, as my fingers are sore from refreshing my phone. I need to go to bed."

Another said: "If everything is sold out I will not be happy."

"Six hours of not being able to put anything in my bag, regardless of being able to actually get onto the site. Pretty unacceptable," said Twitter user Soph.

In a message posted online, the company said: "We're working hard to get our site back up and running ASAP, and don't fret - we'll be extending the offer!"

The store's home page, meanwhile, simply read: "Oh hey, it's a full house at the moment due to overwhelming demand. Keep trying and we'll have room for you soon."

The chief executive and founder of Missguided, Nitin Passi, said in a recent interview with This Is Money that he wanted to expand even further overseas.

"Our kind of growth is something most retailers would be happy with," he said.

"But to be honest, I’m not happy with it. We have some aggressive plans and targets in place for this year."