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One person challenged the availability of the advertised flash drives after Argos was found to have not anticipated the demand or made clear the limited nature of the offer.

Argos explained that due to slow sales the flash drives would not be included in its next catalogue so the remaining stock had been offered at a reduced price via a four-day national press promotion.

The retailer based its forecast for anticipated demand on a previous promotion that showed the flash drives sold in small numbers, so it believed it had enough stock to satisfy demand.

The ASA considered that due to the price of the flash drives being much lower than the previous promotion, a greater demand should have been anticipated.

Because Argos had not made a reasonable estimate of demand and the ad did not clarify the limited nature of the offer, the ad was found to be misleading. It must not appear again in its current form.