Amazon’s one-click ordering service is meant for the convenience of shoppers. But, the same feature turned out to be a boon for a six-year-old shopper, who ordered toys worth $300 from her mom’s account without her knowledge.
How it all ended?
Catherine Lunt, the mother of the six-year-old, stated that she became aware of the orders only when she reached her Amazon account to check something, but noticed some items in there that she never ordered. So she started canceling the orders. “I canceled them because they hadn’t been shipped yet, and then I started looking and there was about 3 more pages of items,” she tells PEOPLE.
My badass little cousin ordered $300 worth of toys w/o my aunt & uncle knowing. This is a picture of how everyone found out. pic.twitter.com/wHWVhsMBYI
— princess ria (@R_tatas) August 11, 2018
Catherine said she immediately knew that her daughter Katelyn made the orders as it included ten Barbie dolls, in addition to other dolls and toys. However, it was too late to cancel other items, and they got around ten boxes home delivered.
Instead of returning the toys to Amazon, Catherine thought of something noble. She decided to donate the toys to the Primary Children’s Hospital. “Katelyn was in Primary Children’s when she was born, so we’ve been wanting to donate something over there,” she said. “She actually had a stroke the first week she was born.”
Now Katelyn is healthy and happy, and according to her mother, a very resourceful child. The toys have been donated, but Katelyn has been restricted from using the internet for one complete month.
How it all started?
It all started when Catherine decided to buy a Barbie doll for her daughter as a token of appreciation for a job well done. Katelyn, who was excited about her gift, asked her mom if she could track the status of her Barbie doll on Amazon’s website. But, after her mom went out of the room, little Katelyn got enough time to execute her mischievous plan.
Ria Diyaolu, a cousin of Katelyn, was the first to post the pictures on Twitter. Diyaolu told BuzzFeed that the delivery guys started unloading the boxes one after another, and the picture posted by her on Twitter went viral. The boxes stacked one above another were almost the height of the six-year-old. Diyaolu also shared the picture of the little serial shopper with the delivery man.
She said that her little cousin was very well aware of what she was doing, and that it is surprising to see a six-year-old aware of Amazon one-click and next day shipping. The photo, which went viral, has received a string of comments with some surprised, while others are sympathizing with Catherine.
About the pictures of Katelyn with the delivered boxes, Catherine said, “It was hilarious so we had to take pictures.”
Amazon one-click – making online shopping easy
Amazon one-click technology, which is a patented tech, has generated billions of dollars in revenue for the company, including some from kids like Katelyn. The online retailer filed for the patent for the technology in 1997 and was it granted by USPTO in 1999. Amazon one-click technology has helped the company with stellar conversion rates from the existing customers. Since the payment and shipping information of the customers are already stored in the Amazon servers, the checkout process is smooth.
Amazon.com allows kids who are thirteen and above to create their own logins for online purchases. Although the company does not reveal how many young users have signed up for the teen accounts, it hinted that the customer response has been strong.
Moreover, internet shopping is becoming increasingly popular among kids and preteens. Retailers, who are aware of this trend, are devising new ways to sell items directly to young shoppers through tablets, smartphones and laptops. According to the marketing experts, the companies are now reaching out to the kids through Snapchat instead of traditional modes like YouTube Kids and other mobile apps.
According to Neilson, around 50% of kids in the 10-to-12 year old category have their own smartphones, and by the time they are teenagers, 95% of Americans have access to a smartphone. Experts say that since shopping by kids influences much of the spending by a family, retailers are giving more importance to these small customers.
During the back-to-school season, brands like Five Star and Red Bull came up with the new back-to-school filters on Snapchat. Also, the clothing chain Justice is advertising in-store fashion on its app. According to the National Retail Federation, families spent an average of $685 per household on clothing, shoes and other items for the school goers. So, it’s a big market, and kids like Katelyn make it even bigger.
