Argos Caught Selling Halo 3 Games Early
Some clever UK gamers have managed to get their hands on copies of Halo 3 early, exploiting poor controls at Argos.
In order to receive a copy early, gamers placed an order on the Argos website, but opted for in-store pickup. Because Argos have an automatic stock picking process in their stores, gamers were able to walk out with copies of Halo 3, a week before the official launch. Argos have now closed the loophole, with the relevant webpage saying that ‘This Page Is Currently Unavailable’.
I think this little escapade has been great publicity for Argos, as many gamers will probably still visit their local Argos store this weekend to try and pickup copies, which will be great for Argos as adult gamers are a market that Argos has poor penetration in.
In a meeting I had with Argos a few years ago, their online guys gave some interesting insights into their business. Argos is very popular with kids because of its huge toy range, and many of us probably remember leafing through the latest catologues as soon as they came out.
They explained tha the problem for Argos is that when these kids get older, Argos is no longer cool and they just stop shopping there, and they don’t tend to return until they get older and have kids of their own. Next time you visit an Argos store have a look around and you’ll see what I mean i.e. you’ll see very few 18-35 year olds in the store, the key demographic for Halo 3 gamers.
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Comment by abhishek on 21 September 2007:
That was a massive loophole and it will bring them good publicity.Its high time they improve so that the adult gamers also become a part of there market.
Cheers
Abhishek
Comment by John on 21 September 2007:
Doh I hate being so predictable… I’ve just started shopping at Argos again because we’d had a baby!
Asides from the cool issue though, their prices rarely compete with what you can find elsewhere a catalog just can’t be kept that up-to-date…
Comment by Everton on 21 September 2007:
Don’t worry John, you’re not alone.
I’m approaching that 35 year old barrier and I have shopped at Argos about 5 times this year, after an approximate 20 year absence. Funnily enough I went there for the first time after struggling to work out where to get certain items, and one of my friends with kids first suggestion was Argos!