When news of the UK’s vote to leave the EU broke on Friday, the world watched as the British pound plummeted and financial markets went into free fall. Amid the fear and speculation though, many online shoppers flocked to UK online stores to take advantage of the drop in the pound’s strength. But anyone searching for a sartorial silver lining to this monumental cloud on ASOS was left disappointed.
The online fashion juggernaut’s website and mobile app were both offline shortly after the announcement of the Brexit decision. In a statement to Fairfax they said this was due to technical errors. But social media quickly began to speculate that the closure was to shut out non-UK residents from buying their items at lower prices as the pound fell in comparison to other currencies.
How ironic. Just when the UK£ devalues, the #ASOS website goes down. Coincidence? I think not.
— Janna Vishnumolakala (@Janna_V) June 24, 2016
Almost as soon as Brexit was announced speculation began about how it would impact online shopping. Yes, it’s a bit of a grim response to a move that will undoubtably impact countless lives, businesses and relationships, but the reality is many shoppers were tracking the struggling pound while filling up their online shopping baskets. Within hours websites were running stories with headlines promising the best UK online shopping sites to enjoy post Brexit.
Chris Wilkinson from Auckland consultancy First Retail Group told The New Zealand Herald that the currency changes could draw more Kiwi shoppers to UK sites. “This has reignited Kiwi’s interest in buying in the UK…It’s probably got people back on Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and ASOS web sites.” Stephen Bridle from retail analysts Marketview agreed, ” I would expect that if the currency depreciates … then I would see people doing more online spending.”
In the hours after the site’s crash ASOS Australia Tweeted, “We’ll be back online soon, we promise! We’ve had some tech issues but it’s def not linked to #Brexit.” The site was back online the following day. In a statement to the Daily Mail they explained, “Our tech team restored the services which involved replacing damaged hardware and this is why it took so long to get back online, however we are now back up and running.”
Despite their continued insistence it was just a coincidence, customers remain sceptical of the timing of the technical glitch and have aired their theories across Twitter. Although you could point out that the wave of consumers looking to drown their sorrows in an post-referendum shopping spree may have legitimately crashed the site. One thing is sure though, never underestimate the power of comfort spending.
Oh well seems like #Brexit killed #ASOS website. https://t.co/Gztz6pCRo6 More seriously, what does it mean for #ecommerce?
— Asinetta (@asinettaserban) June 24, 2016
I love how among all the #Brexit tweets #asos is also trending, it probably shut down on purpose so they didn’t lose too much $ #conspiracy
— RONsmashbriarSWANSON (@smashbriar) June 24, 2016
Credits
Text Wendy Syfret
Image via Twitter