This was going to be a different story. It started out as a piece on retail marketing programs geared to consumers who have decided they want to get healthier and look better. One of the companies that would have been featured was Rite Aid, which has launched a program that includes a tie-in with NBC's "The Biggest Loser" show. But, a funny thing happened yesterday when we went to the Rite Aid site. We couldn't get on. More than 24 hours later and still that "problem loading page" message keeps coming up (in both Firefox and Safari).
Anyone working with websites understands that they crash for a variety of reasons. The best reason (think Groupon) is demand. But, regardless of the reason, it's usually considered good form to offer some explanation as to what is going on. Two email requests by RetailWire for information on the why behind the crash have gone unanswered although help was offered on the original "Biggest Loser" piece.
An article written by Evan Schuman on the StorefrontBacktalk site yesterday pegged the start of Rite Aid's connection problems at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
Mr. Schuman also questioned why Rite Aid had not gone public to address the issue. He wrote, "If Rite-Aid suddenly locked the doors of dozens of its stores in key markets, do you think there's any way it would refuse to offer an explanation when those doors re-opened?"
Discussion Questions: What do you see as the proper response by retailers when e-commerce sites go down? Do you see an opportunity for retailers to turn a downed site into a positive based on how they communicate with consumers?