Things to Do

Atlanta, US Target customers report long lines, abandoned carts amidst Target outage

By Stephanie Toone and Meris Lutz
June 15, 2019

Target registers across the nation are down, and dozens of customers have taken to social media to report their dismay.

Customers reported long lines and malfunctioning registers due to what appeared to be a national point-of-sale outage for major retail brand, according to consumer monitoring site www.downdetector.com.

"We are aware of a systems issue in store and are working as quickly as possible to get this fixed," Target tweeted from its @AskTarget account.

The outage has also hit Atlanta, according to shoppers and employees at the Edgewood Target. Greeters were telling people at the door that they were welcome inside but they couldn't do any transactions. A number of people went in despite that warning.

Bevin Hunter, 40, of Kirkwood was standing in line for a few minutes and said she was willing to wait up to half and hour to buy a swimsuit.

“I just had a baby and none of my swimsuits fit me and I have a pool party,” she said. “But at least I'm not holding a crying baby, so I’m OK.”

Customers experience delays at checkout at the Edgewood Target on Saturday, June 15, 2019.
Customers experience delays at checkout at the Edgewood Target on Saturday, June 15, 2019.

Other Atlantans also reported delays at various local Targets.

In addition to lines, customers described a chaotic scene at some Targets with several full baskets of goods left behind due to the outage.

A user on the downdetector.com site in Sacramento, California, reported that she was able to choose a price and that her local store could not process any purchase more than $20.

Another user in Alabama also reported an outage. “Montgomery, AL Target down too. 😭😭😭 Why God, why???”

There were reports of the outages in a number of cities, including Washington, D.C.

Despite the inconvenience, many customers praised how Atlanta’s Target employees were handling the outage.

About the Authors

Stephanie has been telling stories her whole life. Her interest in the written word started with short stories and journal entries about run-ins with classroom bullies as a child and matured to writing for her high school newspaper over the years. She has written and edited for The Tennessean, Augusta Chronicle and American City & County.

Meris Lutz is a contributing writer covering climate, the environment and the economy. She is particularly interested in stories that explore the intersections between climate change and labor, markets, health, biodiversity, government transparency and public access to natural resources.

More Stories