Customers shopping at Nike Inc. and Macy’s Inc. complained about problems trying to buy goods on Black Friday, as the companies scrambled to remedy technical complications on the critical shopping day.
Shoppers trying to order on Nike’s website have been stymied with error messages, while customers at Macy’s stores complained about problems using their credit cards at checkout.
A Macy’s spokeswoman said the retailer had experienced a “slowdown” with its credit-card system during the day but by Friday evening had resolved the issue.
Charlie Brooks, a Nike spokesman, said the company was seeing a high level of traffic and sales on its site on Friday and that “some consumers [are] experiencing intermittent issues, and our teams are working on those.”
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Lowe’s Cos. experienced “intermittent outages” on its website Friday due to increased customer traffic, a spokeswoman said, adding that the home-improvement chain is working to restore the site to full functionality.
Nike’s website and app errors come at a critical time for the sportswear giant, which is in the midst of a dramatic shift of its business to sell more products digitally and directly to consumers, rather than through its traditional wholesale model to retailers.
Earlier this week, scores of users took to social media to lament error messages they received when trying to purchase a coveted limited-release Nike shoe collection known as “The Ten.”
Mr. Brooks acknowledged complications with the shoe release earlier in the week, adding that the company’s technical teams “have a good understanding of what happened given the extraordinary scale of the demand. We’ll definitely learn from that situation.”
Interviews with more than a dozen shoppers show that they have long experienced frustrations with Nike’s digital-sales portals, including its website and a suite of apps, including SNKRS.
Daniel Pancotto, 39, said he has been a self-described sneakerhead for decades and has bought Nike shoes since high school. But the Los Angeles producer and talent manager said he has been stymied every time he has tried to buy anything on the SNKRS app, including this week.
Mr. Pancotto said he and five friends got together Monday and set up two devices each—a smartphone and iPad—to try to nab at least one of the pairs released in “The Ten” collection, shoes that were designed in collaboration with designer Virgil Abloh.
“The closest I got, which happened three times, was that I placed an order and got a message that I was in line. Every time, the app either froze or I got a message that the shoe was sold out,” he said, adding that he called and emailed Nike several times, and once got a 20% off coupon for a future purchase.
One problem frustrating users is the prevalence of so-called bots, automated accounts that are engineered to purchase highly-coveted shoes online with efficiency and precision.
“I find it hard to believe the shoe releases are fair,” said Michael Zdrojesky, 33, a U.S. Army member in East Greenville, Pa. He prefers shopping in stores to going online and said he has been collecting sneakers for over a decade but finds that it is tough for customers outside of big cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to get coveted releases.
“The problem is for consumers that don’t use a bot program—[they] have almost a 0% chance of getting anything. Nike sends early reservations of shoes that people don’t want and even when it’s a draw you still never get selected,” he said.
Mr. Brooks of Nike said that “any perception that we accept bots is incorrect, and we continue to evolve our bot mitigation practices and tools” and that the company is working “to try to ensure that consumers [who] love our products can get access to them.”
To be sure, shoppers say the hunt for coveted shoe releases is competitive across brands, and some have come up empty when attempting to shop through a rival app by Adidas AG.
An Adidas spokeswoman said the company aims “to give people a secure, fair, and stable experience” across its website and apps and that “after every launch, we are talking to [customers] to hear about their experiences and find ways to make them better.”
Both Nike and Adidas have been releasing more coveted shoes and apparel through their websites and apps in recent years, a shift away from the traditional path of dropping products at big chains like Foot Locker Inc. or in notable footwear boutiques.
The shift has been gradual in recent years, with Nike offering its limited-edition self-lacing sneaker on its sales app last holiday season as a way of enticing shoppers to buy direct. In October, Nike said it would advance its sales shift even further, telling investors the sportswear maker would move away from “undifferentiated retail” over the next five years in favor of 40 preferred retail partners and its direct-sales systems.
Still, the U.S. sportswear market has hit a snag this year amid rising competition and the liquidation of traditional sporting goods retailers. Nike, Adidas and Under Armour Inc. products were all available on discount at department stores like Macy’s on Black Friday, and Nike issued a rare Black Friday deal email early Thanksgiving morning, offering an additional 25% off sale on its website.
Date: Nov 24, 2017