BBC reports that Costco was forced to shut early on opening day in China due to “over crowding”.
The US retailer opened its doors in Shanghai on Tuesday but did not anticipate the amount of shoppers it would attract.
Footage showed a mad frenzy of customers, with some even fighting over items. Some queued for hours to pay whilst some even waited up to three hours to enter the parking lot.
One video showed customers stumbling over one another to grab roast chickens.
“There’s no other word to describe Shanghai’s Costco but crazy,” one Weibo user said, who eventually bailed on the two-hour checkout queue.
Costco was then forced to close early, writing on its Weibo account, “due to overcrowding in the market, and in order to provide you with a better shopping experience, Costco will temporarily close on the afternoon of August 27. Please avoid coming.”
