SUPERMARKET giants Sainsbury’s and Tesco are both suffering from a tech meltdown leaving customers furious and venting online.
Both supermarkets have cancelled home deliveries as the IT outages have wreaked havoc across Britain’s busiest shopping day of the week.
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An IT failure at Tesco has cancelled home deliveries due for today.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are working to fix a technical issue which has meant we have had to cancel some online orders that were due for delivery today.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
While at Sainsbury’s, the IT failure has left shoppers unable to pay with cash and left full trolleys dumped.
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Customers are also facing large queues for ATMs outside stores and car park chaos as tailbacks black traffic.
The supermarket chain is also unable to fulfil online deliveries cancelling thousands of orders that should have been sent to homes today.
Customers were furious online and vented on X, formerly Twitter, at the supermarket.
One said: “No one told us till we got to tills. noone told us about it..only had fiver on me.. unfortunately mobile phones don’t give out cash.”
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Another said: “Proactively contacting customers?? Sat on hold for over an hour to find out what’s happening with my order, no hold music so not even sure sat in a queue.”
A third posted: “You have made an enemy in me today.”
While a fourth threatened to go to the competition: “Was planning a Sainsbury shop in Gloucester today, sounds safer just to go to Tesco instead.”
Sainsbury’s said the supermarket was having issues 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 of our stores are open as usual today, accepting chip and pin and cash payments.
Unfortunately, this also means 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 working as normal and customers can place a new order now for delivery any time from tomorrow.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience and are working hard to fix the issue.”
One shopper queried the supermarket on X asking if their personal data was safe.
Sainsbury’s replied: “Your details will still be safe and secure even with the issues going on.”
The real reason why supermarkets always put the fresh fruit and veg right by the door
All orders placed for Saturday will now be cancelled and the supermarket said payment would not be taken from cards, the company said on X.
Impacted customers will automatically be receiving a voucher into their online wallet to apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Sainsbury’s has also advised shoppers to place new orders on Monday, but has not spoken to refunds or re-deliveries.
Pimlico Sainsbury’s had yellow warning tape around the SmartShop stall on Saturday morning.
A note stuck to the tape told staff the store was cash payment only.
It read: “We apologise, we’re currently unable to accept contactless or card payments.
“We’re working to resolve this issue.
“Please pay using cash. Thank you.”
Have you been affected? Email James Halpin on [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 that the SmartShop guns didn’t work and read “no internet” – so he used the app on his phone.
I think the store staff were like rabbits in the headlights
Ian Miller
He said the app also failed and when he got to the till he had to re-scan all his items.
“It [the till] circles and then goes back to ‘welcome to Sainsbury’s, please start your order’.”
Miller said he then faced payment troubles as the pay wave function didn’t work and it took about a minute for they payment to go through when he inserted his card.
“I was like ‘oh what the f’.”
What do I do about my online order?
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said it would not be able to deliver orders today after the software update affected payments.
They said: “Unfortunately, this also means 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, but will contact them as soon as we can to rebook orders.”
Sainsbury’s has also advised shoppers to place new orders on Monday but has not yet discussed a potential refund process.
Sainsbury’s has said that it will contact all affected customers to discuss rearranging their delivery.
However, if you don’t hear back from the supermarket within the next 24 hours, we recommend you contact them yourself.
You can do so by calling 0800 328 1700.
You’ll also be entitled to a full refund if your online order was charged but left undelivered.
He said other customer’s cards were outright rejected.
Miller said that the staff weren’t too sure what was going on and had begun to place yellow tape over the systems which had gone down, like the SmartShop guns.
“I think the store staff were like rabbits in the headlights.”
Shoppers were fuming in response to 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 fulfil the vast majority of today’s Groceries Online deliveries.
“We are working hard to fix the issue and apologise to our customers for the inconvenience. We will contact customers proactively to rebook orders as soon as we can.”
This incident underscores the fragility of growing dependence on digital infrastructure and the critical nature of investing in robust IT solutions
Richard Lim
Rival supermarket chain Tesco has also suffered a major IT meltdown today which has forced them to cancel home deliveries.
They did not specify how many customers or which regions are affected.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are working to fix a technical issue which has meant we have had to cancel some online orders that were due for delivery today.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
Richard Lim, chief executive of consultancy Retail Economics, told The Times: “While the immediate consequences of wasted food, lost revenue, and a potential erosion of customer trust are a blow to the retailer, the situation highlights a larger concern around operational resilience.
“This incident underscores the fragility of growing dependence on digital infrastructure and the critical nature of investing in robust IT solutions.
“Digital disruption is a principal risk for most retailers, but ensuring contingency planning is in place is vital.”
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Fast food chain McDonald’s had a system crash on Friday forcing it to close some of its restuarants.
Customers were reportedly turned away from stores and some reported issues with online ordering.
Sainsbury’s to close banking business
Sainsbury’s has announced in January it will wind down 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 will be a “phased withdrawal” from the banking business.
Although no current timeline has been issued for how long the changes will take.
Several options are being explored according to Sainsbury’s, these could result in products like 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 about 2.1million customers.
The supermarket giant stressed that nothing will immediately change for current or future customers of Sainsbury’s Bank, and it is “business as usual for now”.
This also includes Argos‘ financial services too.
So, it’s important to note nothing will happen overnight and customers will be alerted to any outsourcing or switches if they do occur.
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