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British Shoppers In Panic After Supermarket Websites Cancel Orders

Sainsbury’s and Asda customers in panic after websites cancel Christmas orders – and Waitrose shoppers complain about no deliveries

  • Angry customers complained of delivery slots being cancelled by retailers
  • Computer glitch scrapped slots chosen by those who had amended orders 
  • Many took to social media amid fear their Christmas food would not arrive
  • Panicked customers bemoaned not being able to phone customer services
  • Sainsbury’s website crashed for half an hour while Asda’s stayed live
  • The online retailers have assured shoppers their orders will arrive on time 

Shoppers ordering their Christmas groceries were left in a state of panic on ‘Mayhem Monday’ today as one major supermarket’s website crashed and two cancelled orders.

Sainsbury’s and Asda customers took to social media to complain about their delivery slots – booked weeks in advance – being scrapped.

The former’s website crashed for half an hour while a glitch in Asda’s website cancelled the delivery times allocated to around 40 customers who had amended existing orders online.

In addition, Waitrose customers also complained that their deliveries did not arrive yesterday.

Sainsbury's customers were outraged when allocated delivery slots booked weeks in advance were scrapped, with the retailer's website crashing for half an hour 

It came on one of the busiest shopping days of the year with consumers rushing to get hold of last minute Christmas essentials.

Father-of-three Peter Dunbar told Sainsbury’s in a tweet: ‘Had an email last night cancelling our Xmas shop delivery. Website glitch. No delivery slots left now. What will you do to fix?’

Meanwhile Matt Richardson said: ‘Sainsbury’s have let us down 100 per cent. Delivery slot booked two weeks ago – Sainsbury’s make a unilateral decision to delete our order. Merry Xmas!’

Vikki Fuller, of Frimley, Surrey, said she had lost her Sainsbury’s order after trying to amend it online, despite booking her delivery slot three weeks in advance.

She will now buy her groceries from the shop, saying: ‘I will have to go out and do my Christmas shopping now but do find doing it online much easier as it’s hard trying to do it with a baby.’

Another customer, Emma Mottram, from south-east London, said: ‘I tried to amend the order yesterday but the website crashed and wouldn’t let me access it.

‘When I tried to amend it today instead, the order disappeared completely from my account, which is why I panicked.’ But she said after speaking to customer services her problem was resolved.

Asda shopper Patrick Harper stated: 'Entire food delivery for our Christmas holiday just cancelled by Asda but they can deliver... on the 29th! Shocking service.’

Asda shopper Patrick Harper stated: ‘Entire food delivery for our Christmas holiday just cancelled by Asda but they can deliver… on the 29th! Shocking service.’

Asda customer Justine Webster tweeted: ‘A problem with your website has cancelled my order and delivery for tomorrow! I could cry'

Asda customer Justine Webster tweeted: ‘A problem with your website has cancelled my order and delivery for tomorrow! I could cry’

Matt Richardson said: ‘Sainsbury's have let us down 100 per cent. Delivery slot booked two weeks ago - Sainsbury's make a unilateral decision to delete our order. Merry Xmas!'

Matt Richardson said: ‘Sainsbury’s have let us down 100 per cent. Delivery slot booked two weeks ago – Sainsbury’s make a unilateral decision to delete our order. Merry Xmas!’

Asda customer Justine Webster tweeted: ‘A problem with your website has cancelled my order and delivery for tomorrow! I could cry.’

And Asda shopper Patrick Harper stated: ‘Entire food delivery for our Christmas holiday just cancelled by Asda but they can deliver… on the 29th! Shocking service.’

While Asda’s website did not crash and is still taking orders for Click & Collect shopping, around 40 customers were affected by the glitc.

An Asda spokesman said: ‘We’re contacting those customers today to reassure them they will be getting their orders, and to offer a little something extra for their inconvenience.’

Meanwhile Sainsbury’s confirmed that it experienced ‘a brief technical issue with our website last night which has now been fixed’.

A spokesman said: ‘We will be individually contacting the small number of customers affected to apologise and make alternative arrangements.

‘We would like to reassure all customers who have orders outstanding that they will receive their deliveries before Christmas.

Busy day: Shoppers on Oxford Street in central London today. Visa Europe expects some £1.3billion to be spent using its cards tomorrow 

Packed: Christmas shoppers make their purchases on Market Street in Manchester city centre this lunchtime

Packed: Christmas shoppers make their purchases on Market Street in Manchester city centre this lunchtime

Out and about: Shoppers pack Oxford Street, with today expected to be the most popular day for festive grocery shopping

‘We’d also like to reassure customers who did not experience issues on the website last night that their confirmed orders will be delivered as expected.’

A problem with your website has cancelled my order and delivery for tomorrow! I could cry
Justine Webster, Asda customer

Waitrose customers also took to Twitter last night to complain about Christmas deliveries that had failed to arrive.

Paul Mayo tweeted: ‘Appalling service from Waitrose. No delivery last night, no call to say it wasn’t calling – no call today to rearrange – Xmas stuff missing.”

Fiona Turner said on Twitter this morning: ‘Waitrose still waiting for my Christmas shop since 8pm last night. Not impressed as now have to sort out the shop with a six-month-old!’

Nadine Gibbs wrote: ‘Waitrose you cancel my Xmas food shop (inclusive of turkey) no notice and no one answering the phone to resolve. So angry, three days before Xmas.’

Waitrose said about 2 per cent of orders were seriously disrupted yesterday and have promised that all customers will receive their deliveries before Christmas.

Wish list: An hour at lunchtime tomorrow is believed to be the peak time for high street shopping

Wish list: An hour at lunchtime tomorrow is believed to be the peak time for high street shopping

A spokesman for the supermarket said: ‘All orders will be fulfilled in time for Christmas. The temporary IT problem yesterday was swiftly and successfully fixed.

‘We have been in touch with any customers who might have a slight delay to their order to apologise and to arrange a delivery time to suit them.”

‘We have contacted any customer affected to ensure we meet their needs in any way we can in time for Christmas (rescheduling delivery or, if they would prefer, collect from their local branch).

‘No orders have been cancelled. We are now back on track with orders today and tomorrow.’

Tesco sent emails to customers with more than one delivery slot, asking them if they could cancel one of them, although it was understood that this was a standard email often sent ahead of peak times such as ahead of Christmas.

A spokesman for the company told MailOnline: ‘We’re pulling out all the stops and are opening up more delivery slots wherever we can.’

It seems shoppers still leave their shopping to the last minute – with more than three million visitors leaving their shopping to the last 12 days of Christmas
Myf Ryan, Westfield director

Tomorrow, an hour at lunchtime is believed to be the peak time for high street shopping.

Supermarket aisles will be filled today as some 36 per cent of consumers plan to do their main Christmas food and drink shop, according to a survey.

This was followed by 35 per cent who are due to stock up on festive treats tomorrow. And from Saturday until Christmas Eve, £300million is expected to be spent in London’s West End.

Tablet computers and video games have been the biggest online sellers for Tesco, which expects to shift 175,000 turkeys and 1.5 million Christmas puddings in the run-up to Christmas.

This Christmas, Waitrose expects to sell enough ‘gingerbread activity kits’ to build a street of houses a mile and a half long, as well as more than 800,000 kilos of turkey, 2.2 million slices of smoked salmon and enough Brussels sprouts for every Briton to have six each.

In the four weeks before Christmas, Tesco expect to shift 2.5 million bottles of champagne and 55 million bottles of wine.

Some 15million Britons were said to have hit the high street at the weekend for last-minute shopping, with 12million planning to continue purchasing right up until Christmas Eve.

Christmassy: People take a photograph in front of a festive window display on Oxford Street in London today

Christmassy: People take a photograph in front of a festive window display on Oxford Street in London today

The figures came from multi-store gift card company One4all, which also found in a study of 2,000 UK that one in five people in Britain struggle to be creative with presents.

This weekend saw over 800,000 people visit Westfield centres in London and shopping hours have been extended until midnight on Monday and Tuesday to allow more last-minute shoppers the chance to purchase presents.

Westfield director Myf Ryan said: ‘It seems shoppers still leave their shopping to the last minute – with more than three million visitors leaving their shopping to the last 12 days of Christmas.’

Meanwhile Visa Europe expects some £1.3billion to be spent using its cards tomorrow, making it the busiest day on the UK high street in the run up to Christmas.

Some £916,667 will be spent every minute or £15,278 every second on Visa cards, the company predicts. The peak time will be in the lunch hour break from 1pm to 2pm.

Crowded: Christmas shoppers pass a '50 per cent off' sale sign on Oxford Street in central London today

Crowded: Christmas shoppers pass a ’50 per cent off’ sale sign on Oxford Street in central London today

Kevin Jenkins, Visa Europe managing director, said: ‘Black Friday kick-started Christmas on the high street and online this year but the busiest bricks and mortar day will likely remain in its traditional slot close to Christmas.

Across Tuesday we are likely to see £1.3billion spent in total
Kevin Jenkins, Visa Europe

‘Retailers’ multi-channel approach should cause a surge in footfall from click-and-collect sales too, with the opportunity for further shopping in-store when consumers arrive. Across Tuesday we are likely to see £1.3billion spent in total.

‘Lunch hour should prove the most popular time for a shopping trip, either for last minute gifts or final ingredients for Christmas dinner.’

Some 34million transactions are expected to take place which is 7 per cent higher than in 2013, while spending is predicted to rise 6 per cent.

Jace Tyrrell, deputy chief executive of New West End Company London, said: ‘The weekend got off to a strong start across the West end with footfall up 6.8 per cent year-on-year on Saturday and up 4.7 per cent year-on-year for the weekend as a whole.

Oxford Street: 15million Britons were said to have hit the high street at the weekend for last-minute shopping

Oxford Street: 15million Britons were said to have hit the high street at the weekend for last-minute shopping

Mayhem Monday: The peak for festive food treats like these

‘Retailers reported confident sales over the weekend hitting the expected £150million spend mark with menswear, accessories and technology proving popular purchases.

‘We are expecting shoppers out in force as the countdown to Christmas begins with 75 per cent of shoppers on Christmas Eve set to be men for the traditional last-minute “Man Dash”.’

The Mail also reported today how traditional Boxing Day sales could become extinct following a rise in pre-Christmas discounts, with shops starting their sales earlier every year.

The British retail ritual on December 26 is coming to ‘the end of its life cycle’, experts said, with footfall on Boxing Day falling by four per cent between 2011 and 2013.

Amazon is expecting Christmas Day to be its busiest day ever for sales of digital books, music, television, films and video games – and said its Boxing Day sales will start at 4pm on December 25.

LAST ORDER DATES FOR RETAILERS TODAY (MONDAY) 
STORE TIME (IF SPECIFIED) CHEAPEST DELIVERY PRICE AFTER AND FINAL ORDER DATE CLICK & COLLECT IN STORE UNTIL
Argos (small items) 6pm £3.95 N/A Wed 24 Dec
Cath Kidston 3.30pm £7.95 N/A N/A
Ernest Jones 2pm £3, free over £100 £5 until Tue 23 Dec (3pm) Mon 22 Dec
Figleaves 12pm £3.75 £6.95 until Tue 23 Dec (3pm) N/A
M&M Direct 2pm £3.99, free over £50 N/A N/A
Next 10pm £3.99 N/A Mon 22 Dec
Reiss £3.95 N/A Mon 22 Dec
Tesco Wine 3pm £6, free over £50 N/A N/A
TM Lewin 1pm Free N/A Mon 22 Dec
LAST ORDER DATES FOR RETAILERS TOMORROW (TUESDAY)
STORE TIME (IF SPECIFIED) CHEAPEST DELIVERY PRICE AFTER AND FINAL ORDER DATE CLICK & COLLECT IN STORE UNTIL
Asda (groceries, if you can get a slot) Book a slot Varies N/A Tue 23 Dec
Ocado (if you can get a slot) Book a slot Varies N/A N/A
Rubbersole 2pm Free N/A N/A
Sainsbury’s (if you can get a slot) Book a slot Varies N/A N/A
Tesco (groceries, if you can get a slot) Book a slot Varies N/A Tue 23 Dec
Waitrose (if you can get a slot) Book a slot Varies N/A N/A

Tables provided by MoneySavingExpert 

More than 1,600 offers will be available, with an average of 35 per cent off current Amazon UK prices. Offers will include £37 off a £170 Sony smart-watch and £15 off a £40 Philips blender.

75 per cent of shoppers on Christmas Eve [are] set to be men for the traditional last-minute “Man Dash”
Jace Tyrrell, New West End Company London deputy chief executive

Discounts will also include £129 off a £259 Briggs & Riley cabin trolley bag, £44 off a £144 Makita cordless drill, £172 off a £633 Yamaha piano and £301 off a pair of £500 Clogau glod earrings.

Some 88 per cent of Britons plan to hit the Boxing Day sales – although 54 per cent will buy items or styles they would not purchase at full-price, according to a study by retailer B&Q.

The poll also found 43 per cent of people think they will later regret purchases, with an estimated £14billion of post-sale regret on ‘big ticket’ items such as kitchens or cars in Britain this Christmas.

Other research, for online marketing firm Webloyalty, found one in 20 people will spend Christmas Day shopping on the internet and more than half of Britons plan to shop in low-cost supermarkets.

HOW 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COST AVERAGE BRITISH FAMILY ALMOST £650

The ‘12 Days of Christmas’ will cost the average British family about £650, a study revealed today.

And when the bill for Christmas Day to January 5 is added to the £750 households are expected to spend on gifts, decorations and food in the run-up to December 25, the total is £1,400.

The average bill of £642 per household during Christmas includes £109 on post-Christmas food shopping, £97 on drinks and trips to the pub and £195 on eating out.

Also included are £120 on January sales shopping and £121 on travel and visiting family, according to the survey of more than 2,000 people by First Direct bank.

Zoe Shore from First Direct said: ‘Christmas becomes a two-week holiday for a lot of people, and that means extra expense, which we found 85 per cent of people haven’t budgeted for.’

Sourced from: www.dailymail.co.uk

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By

Confessions of a checkout girl at Sainsbury’s: A portrait of modern Britain from the other side of the till

So here I am. Day One as a trainee Sainsbury’s checkout girl. My hair is tied back, I’m wearing my bright blue polyester polo shirt, my shoes are flat and sensible and I’ve got my orange name-badge on.

It’s November 2008, and we are headed for a full-blown recession. Across Britain, people are losing their jobs in droves, and already I can see the first signs of what is happening in the wider world.

I’d expected my colleagues to come from largely working-class backgrounds, to be students or housewives looking for a little extra cash. And most of them are.

Tazeen Ahmad

In the thick of it: Tazeen had to scan 17 items per minute. ‘If you don’t maintain your IPM, we’ll find out,’ she was told

But sitting next to me on the training course is a former City professional, who has lost his job and has been left with no option but to take any position he can get.

Edward tells me he has spent most of his 20s and 30s working in middle management – he’s far too qualified to be doing a menial job like this for £6.30 an hour.

A few days later, I find him wandering around the children’s clothing department with a woman’s top in his hands. ‘Edward, that’s a blouse, not a dress,’ I say, showing him the label. ‘It’s a size 12, not age 12.’ He looks at me in bafflement.

I’m already discovering that the checkout girl’s job may look straightforward, but it is not without its challenges – ones that will never have crossed the minds of the millions of shoppers who use supermarkets every year.

We have to scan 17 items per minute (IPM). ‘If you don’t maintain your IPM, we’ll find out,’ says our plain-speaking till trainer.

All our actions are accountable; CCTV, electronic monitoring, assessments, clocking in and out, customer and colleague feedback. With cameras in every nook and cranny, there is no escape.

I’m an investigative journalist who’s worked for the BBC and Channel 4, and decided to take this job undercover to find out what it will teach me about modern British life.

Two weeks after I start, I’m put on a till as a checkout girl – or COG. At first, I’m slow and make mistakes – but once I get over my nerves, I feel as high as a kite. Even at my fastest, however, I’m only averaging 13 items per minute.

Every day, I serve up to 200 customers. Some people come in every day and spend £30, buying just what they need for dinner that night.

Others spend hundreds of pounds a week. The most I will ever see go through the till on a single shop is £600 – and the woman in question tells me that is a weekly shop for her family of four.

What quickly becomes apparent is that my ’till-side’ view of every customer’s shopping is a privileged intrusion into their lives, and quickly lends itself to the worst kind of cod psychology.

Take the single woman in her 30s buying the one carrot, a single onion, minced beef, a giant bar of Dairy Milk and a glossy magazine. I can already see her night in with dinner-for-one followed by chocolate and Hello! for dessert.

The man with the heavy bags under his eyes quietly purchasing breast pads and nappies for the new mother and her baby at home is totally exhausted.

And the lonely middle-aged man with a penchant for red wine, who gets through a bottle just about every night (I know this because he’s back every couple of days for more).

And then there are the men buying condoms, which for some horrendous reason come in special security boxes that it’s my job to remove.

At least three times a day, I struggle to get the security box off while the purchaser stands in front of me, shifting anxiously on his feet, the rest of the queue smirking behind him.

Tazeen Ahmad

Embarrassing: Tazeen struggled to remove condoms from their security boxes – much to some customers’ amusement

Usually, I end up having to call over my supervisor to remove the box for me, by which point the customer is usually flushing beetroot red. As he flees the store in embarrassment, I want to tell him that already I’ve seen enough to be immune to the intimate items people buy.

While moments like that are hilarious in hindsight, what strikes me as the days go by is just how desperately lonely so many people are – how much they want to talk to someone, even a stranger on the checkout.

So many mothers with small children stop and talk to me about just about anything, just to be able to have adult conversation after what must be hours cooped up at home with a baby.

Then there are the elderly customers who make me feel I am probably the only person they’ve spoken to that day.

For the elderly in particular, the supermarket illustrates just what a big challenge modern life is becoming to them.

They struggle with the credit card pin pad and forget their numbers. Often, as they try for the second or third time, their hands tremble with nerves. In those moments, I wish we could still accept cheques.

Some of the older customers have such severe arthritis they hand me their purse and ask me to take their money out for them. And none of them comes in at the weekends. When I ask why, they simply tell me that the scale of the supermarket, the overwhelming choice and the crowds make it too frightening a place for them.

They tell me how much they hate trying to pack their goods up into bags, knowing that the people queuing behind them are cursing them for being slower.

I realise too that there is a fundamental difference between the customers coming to ‘basket only’ tills compared to the trolley ones.

Baskets seem to attract men in the 30-50 age group, who offer grunts rather than conversation – and only ever buy a couple of items – one of which is invariably a can of deodorant. And these are the people who treat me the worst.

If I am too slow for them, they actually bellow to themselves like animals preparing for battle. When I need help from a ’till captain’ to sort out a problem with the till machine, one charmer shouts from the back of the queue: ‘I only stood here because I thought it would be quicker.’

This is met by a rumble of approval from the other men waiting in line. One man even throws down his basket and storms off.

Even on the main tills, I am regularly shouted at. One day when I’m at the end of my shift on the checkout – I try to close my till only to be shouted at by a chic lady in her 50s. ‘No! You are not shutting your till. I don’t care if you want to go home – you are going to serve me.’

On another occasion, as I await a supervisor, a woman shouts from down the queue: ‘What’s the holdup?’ As she reaches me, she talks angrily to her companion in a foreign language: I have no idea about what.

As she takes back her change, she turns to me and shouts in my face: ‘You didn’t say please or thank you once.’

I’m mortified, especially as I take in the people behind her staring at me for my reaction. Under normal circumstances, I would have a clever remark ready, but as a checkout girl – or COG – you’re gagged – you can’t fight back.

My heart is racing, I’m humiliated and I feel like crying, but I have to fix a smile to my face and carry on serving.

Tazeem Ahmad

The sharp end: Tazeem had to smile through abuse dolled out by angry customers

I would love to have a few minutes to compose myself, but the checkout girl has no time for recovery. I’ve done live television, and interviewed difficult politicians for work, yet all of this feels far more stressful.

By Christmas, what is happening to the economy as a whole is beginning to show its face in the supermarket. The store itself is like a pantomime set, with elves, female Father Christmases and two-legged reindeer everywhere.

But customers aren’t completely embracing Christmas cheer, and are counting pennies likr I’ve seen before.

More and more people tell me they know of friends who’ve lost their jobs and they’re worried they might lose theirs. One customer says he usually shops at Marks & Spencer, but although he misses all his luxuries, he can’t justify paying those prices any more.

I begin to lose count of the number of customers who have stared aghast at their bills, or couples who bicker openly at the out over how much has been spent.

Some people even then quietly ask me if we are looking for checkout staff.

Everyone is trying to save money, so they’re keen to cash in their reward points and use any money off vouchers. Ingredients from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Feed the family for a fiver’ range are flying off the shelves too. All around the country I imagine families tucking into the same dinners, chosen simply because of their price.

I also start to notice shopping lists in people’s hands or left discarded on trolleys. Previously, they just wandered around the store picking up whatever took their fancy.

Now, in an attempt to save money, they are planning their meals in advance and getting only what they need. One man even comes through my till a few days after Christmas with reduced price crackers, a chicken roast, discounted Christmas wrapping paper and wine.

‘Are you celebrating Christmas late?’ I blurt out before I can help myself. ‘Tomorrow – seems a good way to save money,’ he replies sadly.

By January, a sea change has occurred. Everyone is now horrified by how much their shopping is costing them, and struggling to meet the costs.

People come through the till, their entire basket filled with red and white boxes: they are buying everything from the Sainsbury’s basics range, from biscuits and bread to mozzarella.

People are buying ready meals less often, opting to make their dinners from scratch, which is cheaper. At my till, countless customers comment that they can no longer afford to spend as much per month on food as they do on their mortgage.

I also notice a sudden surge in the number of bags of compost and packets of vegetable seeds being sold. Customers start telling me they are going to try growing their own vegetables, in their back gardens or even on their window ledges, in an effort to cut costs.

Nowhere is the effect of the credit crunch more noticeable than in the sale of home hair dye kits. When I started here, I would sell two to three a day. By February, I am selling more than 30 a day, mostly to ladies who clearly have heads of expensively highlighted hair. They happily admit that by doing it themselves they can save at least £50.

But despite the recession, people are still treating themselves. As Valentine’s Day arrives, couples buy mussels with butter cream, chocolate cheesecake and a bottle of wine. One chap also throws in flowers, a box of chocolates, Taste the Difference vegetables, ready-made salad and a pretty blouse. It costs him just over £30.

‘It’s my credit-crunch friendly Valentine’s night-in,’ he tells me. Amusingly, many men are actually buying their Valentine cards while their wife is in tow. One woman rolls her eyes and says, ‘How romantic!’ as she packs hers.

And there are very few customers who do not arrive at the checkout without a few bottles of wine in their basket. It probably increased the cost of their shop by 25 per cent, but they tell me it’s still cheaper to drink at home than go to the pub. Perhaps they’re just trying to numb the pain.

By April, my six months as a COG is drawing to a close. And as ever, whatever is happening in the country as a whole is reflected through my till.

In the first spell of hot weather, all the tills are covered with barbecues and bottles of Pimm’s. One couple tells me they are going to make pina coladas and have them in their back garden.

More recently, when swine flu is officially declared a pandemic, almost every customer immediately purchases bottles of antibacterial gel. I get some myself and find I’m slathering it over my hands every four or five customers.

Surely here, handling so much change, so many credit cards and with so many different people standing over me every day, I am at high risk of catching the virus.

My final day comes in early May, and my last customer is the 230th person I’ve served that day.

‘ Congratulations, you are my last customer in this job. Ever,’ I tell the pretty blonde standing in front of me. ‘I’m honoured,’ she replies.

Behind her are a mass of customers. ‘I’m sorry, but I really have to close,’ I say, not once, not twice but eight times. Everyone grunts. Everyone rolls their eyes.

I close my till, do my last cash-up. The next shift are gathered together, huddled over the schedules. I hand over my keys and the till captain takes them distractedly. I say good-bye. Nobody hears me.

As I walk out the big double doors I turn one last time to look at the checkouts. There is already another COG sitting in my chair – ready to begin her own remarkable lesson in life

Sourced from.dailymail.co.uk/

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By

Sainsbury’s Sorry For ‘Racist’ 12 Years A Slave Costume Used To Promote DVD

Sainsbury’s has apologised after it was accused of racism for using a slave costume to encourage customers to buy a copy of Best Picture Oscar-winning film 12 Years A Slave.

This image of the costume on a mannequin emblazoned with stickers saying ‘NEW’, was posted to Twitter by a surprised shopper who said it was “in very poor taste”.

sainsburys slave outfit

The outfit appeared next to DVD and Blu Ray copies of the film
 

The costume features the black trousers and beige shirt worn in the film by slave Solomon Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

It carries a price tag the same as the cost of the film on DVD, implying the costume itself was not for sale but was only promoting the film.

The suggestion that a costume was an appropriate way of promoting a harrowing film about slavery in pre-Civil War American failed to get much support on social media.

One tweeter described it as “shocking”.

Another asked: “How is this EVER ok? Appropriating black struggle as a look, nice #racism”

How is this EVER ok? @SainsburysPR http://t.co/3PPryj4PMH pic.twitter.com/a6eyKXYpbd Appropriating black struggle as a look, nice #Racism

— Sam Ambreen (@SamAmbreen) May 19, 2014

Sainsbury’s said the mannequin, which was on display in the Heyford Hill, Oxford branch, “should never have gone up in the first place”.

In a statement, the store told The Huffington Post UK: “We can only apologise.  It’s been taken down from the Heyford Hill store and clearly should never have gone up in the first place.”

The Twitter account @sainsburyspr has been forced to repeat this line to a lot of people asking about why the costume went up.

twitter

The film, directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen, came out on DVD and Blu Ray in the UK last Monday.

 

Sourced from the Huffintonpost.com

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