A tweet announcing the return of popular high street retailer Woolworths has gone viral – despite being a hoax.
The coronavirus pandemic has left many people feeling nostalgic for a time when things were better, normal even, and is perhaps why so many got excited on Tuesday when a Twitter account appeared out of nowhere – suggesting the retailer was set to make a comeback.
A relic of a bygone-age, Woolies as it was affectionaly known, dominated many high streets across the UK – famous for its wide range of merchandise including sweets, children’s toys, clothes, homeware and CDs.
It’s easy to see why its potential comeback caused such a stir.
Social media was alight with people expressing their happiness at the development and the ‘story’ was reported by numerous different media outlets.
But the wool had been pulled over their eyes – it was a fake account.
Here to save 2020! Woolworths is coming back to your high street, as a physical store!
— Woolworths UK (@UKWoolworths) October 27, 2020
A couple of legal things to get sorted, but we’re full steam ahead at Woolworths HQ.
We want to get this right, so we need your help. What do you want at your UK #YourWoolworths? pic.twitter.com/k5BtcYdcAI
The clues were there from the outset. The account appeared out of nowhere and the attached link directed people to a defunct website.
Very Group, which now owns the Woolworths trademark, finally doused the flames of excitement for good, saying it had not heard of any plans to open stores.
A spokesman said: “We own the Woolworths trademark in the UK. The Twitter account UKWoolworths is not connected to The Very Group.”
High streets across the UK are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.
Many famous names are shutting their doors and disappearing from the landscape for good – it’s now clear that Woolworths will remain one of them.