Metro Police Officers Are Shown Outside Walmart
Metro Police officers are shown outside a Walmart after a shooting in Las Vegas June 8, 2014. Las Vegas police said on Sunday that a shooting incident involving officers resulted in injuries and urged people to stay away from the scene. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a tweet that the incident occurred near north Las Vegas, at an address close to a Wal-Mart store. Reuters/Las Vegas Sun//Steve M

Walmart displayed a section on its website that sold "Fat Girl Costumes." The use of such an apparently derogatory term by a major company has created buzz.

The mega retailer kept the category of costumes for some time before withdrawing it without declaring any reason. The Halloween costume section had several outfits which were also a part of the Women's Plus Size Adult section. It was suspected that it might have been a prank played by some web developer. However, the person(s) responsible for creating the section might have neglected to change it.

Kristyn Washburn (@ItsWithaY) was quick to point it out to the retailing giant on Twitter. She wrote that she was not sure if naming the section in such a way was "the best approach." Walmart was prompt to reply to Washburn's comment. Walmart replied that the customer's comments and suggestions were important to them and help make Walmart even better." However, some people including Jezebel's Anna Merlan found the reply "very general" and "slightly robotic." Washburn wondered if the remark was "sorry in corporate speak."

While the section was visible until 11 a.m. EST, The Huffington Post reported that a Walmart spokesperson sent an apology for having such a section on its website. "This never should have been on our site. It is unacceptable, and we apologize. We are working to remove it as soon as possible and ensure this never happens again," the spokesperson said. BuzzFeed News, on the other hand, heard it from Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala that Walmart teams had immediately engaged after hearing about it.

The teams were apparently working on removing the section as early as possible, he said. He also said that the company would make sure that it did not happen again. The update came at 9:28 p.m. on Oct. 27, and the link no longer takes visitor to the section called "Fat Girl Costumes." It, on the other hand, shows "no results found." Additionally, it shows plus-size costumes as "related products."

Have a look at the screenshot of the costume section on the Walmart website when it was still available online.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au