After massive Target outage, some stores say registers running again - USA TODAY

Kelly Tyko USA TODAY

Published 4:04 PM EDT Jun 15, 2019

It was a tough afternoon to be at Target.

After what appeared to be a nationwide register outage Saturday, some stores reported they were up and running again.

The outage tried the patience of some, while others did their best to take it in stride. Shoppers posted to social media about long waits at the checkout line and then leaving stores empty-handed Saturday afternoon.

"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 in response to shoppers' tweets. "Thank you for your patience!"

At a mini-Target in the Arlington, Virginia, outside of the nation's capital, two greeters were stationed at the door to warn new shoppers the system was down and to apologize to those inside who had to wait to finish their purchase.

Manager Sergio Delgado was busy, too, working the checkout counter and bagging purchases, trying to play catch-up to a line of around 30 people waiting at registers. Delgado said the system had finally returned, but that he was so busy he doesn't know long it was down. He was also surprised to learn the outage was nationwide.

Delgado said the situation was finally "under control" thanks to his "great team" of workers, clad in red T-shirts. During the outage, the store was only able to fulfill pre-purchased, online orders.

It is unknown if the outage is over in all of Target's 1,849 U.S. stores.

“We’re aware that guests are currently unable to make purchases at Target stores. Our teams are troubleshooting now and we apologize for the inconvenience,” Target said in a statement to USA TODAY. “We will provide an update as soon as possible.”

There have been many posts on Downdetector.com about stores experiencing problems.

"This is what happens when you rely solely on technology @Target #TargetShutdown #Anarchy," Twitter user @_MsKilljoy tweeted, including a photo of shoppers standing with carts near checkout lanes.

"Massive outage at @Target. All checkout systems are down across multiple stores in our immediate area. I wonder how widespread this really is. #SaturdayMorning," @TheQuietJorge tweeted.

Some stores are reportedly passing out snacks, @WesleyBout tweeted.

Some shoppers are reporting signs of store closings on doors at their Target stores.

It did help with impulse shopping, @MrDanHeaver tweeted.

@writeriowa tweeted reminding fellow shoppers that it wasn't the fault of employees.

This story will be updated.

Contributing: Doug Stanglin

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko

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