A limited run of £20 ‘Mystery Boxes’ from Lidl, each containing middle aisle items said to be worth over £100, sold out “almost immediately” after going on sale.
Lidl put 1,000 of the boxes on sale from 10am on Thursday 15 August, containing anything from “coffee machines to ukuleles”. In a highly unusual move for the discounter, they were offered for sale online rather than in stores.
The boxes proved so popular that a number of customers used X (formerly Twitter) to express disappointment at not being able to get one, with some complaining of glitches on Lidl’s website which stopped their payment being processed.
Fuming @LidlGB. Used all my cards which all got declined and now suddenly it’s out of stock after I refreshed and tried to go back?! #mysterybox #lidl pic.twitter.com/zzzUUV1DSd
— ftstxkeiokw (@ft_xt97324) August 15, 2024
“We’re so sorry that you were unable to get a mystery box,” Lidl tweeted in reply. “The promotion was extremely popular and sold out almost immediately.”
The boxes were “stuffed full of weird and wonderful Middle of Lidl items, from coffee machines to ukuleles, goggles, crochet kits, massage guns and more”, according to Lidl.
The supermarket said #MysteryBoxes had been trending on social media thanks to similar offers from the likes of Nike and premium sweets brand Candy Kittens. It said it had joined the trend in celebration of its “beloved cult classic Middle of Lidl, which regularly grips the nation’s attention with its unpredictable product offering”.
Lidl is thought to be working through a backlog of general merchandise stock at international level. Accounts of Lidl Stiftung, Lidl GB’s parent in Germany, covering the year to 28 February 2023, show the value of stock held increased by 45% to €7.65bn, with higher inventories in non-food identified as a major factor.
In the UK, Lidl also held ‘50% off everything’ sales in the middle aisle in December last year.
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