A technical issue has forced Woolworths shops across Australia to close.
The issue relates to the till system, which has reportedly left many stores unable to process any sales.
Customers began to take to social media at quarter past 4pm to report that they were stuck in lines or told to leave the store while the issue is resolved. At Haymarket in Sydney, customers were told to return in “an hour“, according to one tweet for ABC journalist Michael Janda.
Looks like Woolworths has a widespread IT problem that has shut stores. This was staff at Woolies Haymarket telling people to come back in an hour pic.twitter.com/6aEKJJMVob
— Michael Janda (@mikejanda) April 16, 2018
It’s unclear how wide-spread the issue was, though by social media it’s clear that Victoria, NSW and Queensland were affected. Several media outlets have reported that the outage was Australia-wide, and affected all stores, though Woolworths are yet to make a comment.
#AI takeover at my local Woolworths. Checkouts all down Left my free range eggs and organic yoghurt behind. The pain pic.twitter.com/Mz3yKnYQub
— Peggy Giakoumelos (@peggygia) April 16, 2018
Woolies Double Bay closed at “the busiest time of the day,” according to the manager, because the “system has crashed”. A lot of hangry customers outside the store right now. @woolworths pic.twitter.com/JQtRi6edj7
— Amy Croffey (@AmyCroffey) April 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/StephBoulet/status/985762668542771200
Woolworth’s haven’t made a statement yet, but they are replying to tweets explaining that registers “are now back online in all of our stores“. Our dinners are saved.
Hi Danny, we can confirm that an IT issue impacted registers in our supermarkets for a short period of time this afternoon. The registers are now back online in all our stores. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Thanks
— Woolworths (@woolworths) April 16, 2018
Image credit: Hugh Peterswald/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
