Circuit City misses e-commerce website relaunch date

Defunct consumer electronics retailer Circuit City appears to have missed its own deadline for the launch of its retooled e-commerce website.

Circuit City CEO Ronny Shmoel announced last month at the Consumer Electronics Show that the company would revive its e-commerce platform on Thursday, Feb. 15. However, the company’s website still displayed a “coming soon” banner as of 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and was later updated with a statement explaining the delay.

"We have been working around the clock to ensure that our site is optimized for our customers," the website said. "Due to an overwhelming amount of preliminary traffic, we are reinforcing things a bit. Though we regret that our launch will be slightly delayed, we are looking forward to offering you the best possible online shopping experience in the immediate future."

Circuit City representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Shmoel said last month that the new site would use the IBM Watson artificial intelligence platform to personalize the shopping experience for customers. The Circuit City CEO added that the site would offer real-time tech support by video and a search-by-photo function for product listings, among other tech-savvy features.

Circuit City hasn’t sold products through its website since 2012, when Systemax, the company that purchased its intellectual property, ended an attempt to rebrand the retailer as an online-only store. The original Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis and closed its last brick-and-mortar stores in 2009.

This story has been updated.