Risque Business: Sears Thought It Had Removed A Naughty Image, But It Didn’t Go Far Enough
Written by Frank HayesFebruary 16th, 2012
Sears got a double-barreled lesson this week on the risks of letting third-party sellers put products in its online marketplace at Sears.com. On Monday (Feb. 13), customers discovered an exceedingly revealing product image for a $24.99 lingerie item. Word—well, snickers—passed around the Internet until a Forbes blogger contacted Sears for comment, after which the offending image was removed. Sears thought the problem was resolved. It wasn't.
It turns out there was at least one more copy of the problem picture—this time on Sears' ShopYourWay.com Web site.
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3 Comments | Read Risque Business: Sears Thought It Had Removed A Naughty Image, But It Didn’t Go Far Enough
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Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
-Christine
February 16th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Oh my gosh! Time to panic and feel guilty because somebody saw a bare breast. What is this society coming to ?
February 16th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Editor’s Note: The intended point of the piece was not that the particular body part was offensive. It was the challenge for a retailer to control its images and to remove it completely once it decided to do so. Whether or not Sears should have wanted to remove that image is a separate issue. That said, one could certainly argue that the image was necessary to sell the product, so if even a handful of site visitors are offended, it seems to be a potential problem. Much of this is context. It could be jarring for that image to be seen in the middle of a retail site.
February 16th, 2012 at 10:22 am
I think this article is a great reminder of the world we now live in. Retailers sometimes forget what it involves. In the ‘old days’ of printed catalogs, we often knew how many and where copies existed. Now, you know that the world could see your error … even after you’ve removed it. Preparation, planning, proofing, etc. are even more critical!