SUPERMARKET giants Sainsbury’s and Tesco are suffering a tech meltdown that has left customers furious and venting online.
Both supermarkets canceled home deliveries as IT outages caused chaos on Britain’s busiest shopping day of the week.
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Queues formed in shops as customers could only pay in cashCredit: LNP
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SmartShopping scanners said ‘no internet connection’Credit: LNP
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Staff at Sainsbury’s in Worthing kept customers informed of the issues Credit: Eddie Mitchell
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Sainsbury’s SmartShop didn’t work with screens reading: ‘no internet’
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Customers lined up at an ATM to withdraw cash Credit: Eddie Mitchell
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The trolley stands abandoned at Sainsbury’s in Pimlico
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Online shoppers vented their frustration at the supermarket and threatened to leave to rival chainsCredit: Eddie Mitchell
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Customers are queuing for an ATM because the supermarket in Pimlico has switched to cash only
An IT failure in Tesco canceled home deliveries for today.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We are working to resolve a technical issue which has meant we have had to cancel some online orders which were due to be delivered today.
“We apologize for the inconvenience.”
While at Sainsbury’s, an IT glitch left customers unable to pay with cash and left them dumping their full trolleys or waiting in long queues for ATMs outside stores.
The supermarket chain is also unable to make online deliveries, canceling thousands of orders that were due to be delivered to homes today.
Customers were furious online and took to X, formerly Twitter, at the supermarket.
One said: “No one told us until we got to the till. No one told us about it..I only had a fiver on me..unfortunately mobile phones don’t give cash.”
Another said: “Proactively contacting customers?? I sat on hold for over an hour to find out what was going on with my order, no music on hold so I’m not even sure I was sitting in line.”
A third announced, “Today you have made an enemy in me.”
While a fourth threatened to leave for the competition: “He was planning to shop at Sainsbury’s in Gloucester today, sounds safer to go to Tesco.”
Sainsbury’s said the supermarket was experiencing problems with contactless payments due to an overnight software update.
A spokesperson said: “Due to an error with an overnight software update, we are experiencing issues with contactless payments.
“All our stores are working as usual today, accepting payment by chip, pin and cash.
Unfortunately, this also means that we will not be able to deliver the vast majority of today’s Groceries Online orders, and we are currently unable to contact customers directly.
“Our online ordering system is operating as normal and customers can place a new order now for delivery any time from tomorrow.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience and are working hard to resolve the issue.”
A customer asked a supermarket at X asking if his personal information was secure.
Sainsbury’s responded: “Your data will still be safe even if there are problems.”
The real reason why supermarkets always put fresh fruit and vegetables outside the door
All orders placed for Saturday will now be canceled and the supermarket said payment will not be taken from cards, the company said on X.
Affected users will automatically receive a voucher in their online wallet as an apology for the inconvenience caused.
Sainsbury’s also advised customers to place new orders on Monday, but did not comment on refunds or re-deliveries.
Pimlico Sainsbury’s placed yellow warning tape around the SmartShop stand on Saturday morning.
A note taped to the tape told staff the store was cash only.
It said: “Sorry, we are currently unable to accept contactless or card payments.
“We are working to solve this problem.
“Pay with cash. Thank you.”
Have you been affected? Email James Halpin at [email protected] or call the newsroom on 0207 860 1129
Ian Miller went shopping at the Pimlico store in London just after 7am.
He said the SmartShop guns weren’t working and it said “no internet” – so he used the app on his phone.
I think the store staff were like rabbits in the headlights
Ian MillerShopper
He said the app also failed and when he got to the checkout he had to rescan all his items.
“It [the till] circles and then it’s back to ‘welcome to Sainsbury’s, start ordering’.”
Miller said he faced payment problems at the time because the payment wave function wasn’t working and it took about a minute for the payment to go through when he inserted his card.
“I was like ‘oh what the fuck’.”
What should I do with my online order?
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said it would be unable to deliver orders today after a software update affected payments.
They said: “Unfortunately, this also means we won’t be able to deliver the vast majority of today’s Groceries Online orders and we can’t contact customers directly at the moment, but we will contact them as soon as we can to rebook orders.”
Sainsbury’s has also advised customers to place new orders on Monday, but has yet to discuss a potential refund process.
Sainsbury’s said it would be contacting all affected customers to discuss reorganizing their delivery.
However, if the supermarket does not hear from you within the next 24 hours, we recommend that you contact them yourself.
You can do this by calling 0800 328 1700.
You will also be entitled to a full refund if your online order has been charged for but not delivered.
He said other customers’ cards were immediately declined.
Miller said staff weren’t quite sure what was going on and began putting yellow tape over systems that had malfunctioned, like the SmartShop gun.
– I think the shop staff were like rabbits in the headlights.
Shoppers took umbrage at the supermarket’s posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Earlier, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are currently experiencing a technical issue affecting some stores, our Groceries Online service and our ability to contact customers directly.
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to make the vast majority of today’s Groceries Online deliveries.
“We are working hard to resolve the issue and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience. We will proactively contact customers to rebook orders as soon as we can.”
This incident highlights the fragility of the growing dependence on digital infrastructure and the critical nature of investing in robust IT solutions
Richard LimCEO Retail Economics
Competing supermarket chain Tesco also experienced a major IT breakdown today which forced them to cancel home deliveries.
They did not specify how many customers or which regions were affected.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We are working to resolve a technical issue which has meant we have had to cancel some online orders which were due to be delivered today.
“We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Richard Lim, chief executive of consultancy Retail Economics, told The Times: “While the immediate consequences of food waste, lost revenue and potential erosion of customer confidence are a blow to the retailer, the situation highlights wider concerns about operational resilience.
“This incident highlights the fragility of the growing dependence on digital infrastructure and the critical nature of investing in robust IT solutions.
“Digital disruption is a major risk for most retailers, but ensuring a contingency plan is in place is key.”
The fast-food chain McDonald’s experienced a system crash on Friday, forcing it to close some of its restaurants.
Customers have reportedly been turned away from stores, and some have reported problems with online ordering.
Sainsbury’s to close banking
Sainsbury’s announced in January that it would close its banking division – known as Sainsbury’s Bank – as part of plans to focus on retail.
It comes as part of the grocer’s plan to focus on “food first”.
Sainsbury’s said there would be a “gradual exit” from the banking business.
Although no current deadline has been announced for how long the changes will last.
According to Sainsbury’s, several options are being explored, which could result in products such as credit cards, loans and savings accounts being outsourced to other providers.
The bank already outsources its insurance products, and its Argos credit cards and loans to around 2.1 million customers.
The supermarket giant stressed that nothing would immediately change for current or future Sainsbury’s Bank customers, and that it was “business as usual for now”.
This also includes Argos’ financial services.
So, it is important to note that nothing will happen overnight and clients will be alerted to any outsourcing or changes if they occur.
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Staff looked frustrated as they struggled to do their jobs Credit: Eddie Mitchell
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Sainsbury’s responded to customers on XCredit: X
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