Target stores in Chicago and around the country suffered a computer malfunction Saturday afternoon, leading to long wait times.
Will you remember where you were during #TargetDown, also known as the Targetgeddon?
In Chicago and all over the country, computer systems at Target stores stopped working Saturday afternoon, halting all transactions at registers and food vendors like Starbucks. People reported waiting in line for more than 45 minutes before giving up altogether.
@Target has announced a global register outage. The apocalypse has commenced. #sos #targetdown #chicago
— Cassie C. (@Cassi_lee) June 15, 2019
People on Twitter started posting about the computer system crash around 1:30 p.m. At about 4:30 p.m., Target emailed a statement that the registers were back online.
“Target’s registers are fully back online and guests are able to purchase their merchandise again in all stores,” a spokeswoman for Target wrote in an email to the Sun-Times. “The temporary outage earlier today was the result of an internal technology issue that lasted for approximately two hours. Our technology team worked quickly to identify and fix the issue, and we apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this caused for our guests.”
Target further stated that the cause of the computer glitch was not a data breach or a security-related issue. No customer information was compromised.
During the downtime in Chicago, the lines grew, and shoppers took to social media to warn others and share a laugh.
@Target you’ve got a mess on your hands at some Chicago stores. Your systems are down, dozens of people waiting to check out and you’re not answering managers calls to corporate.... pic.twitter.com/V2bPEAgFLr
— LAF (@lowlyann) June 15, 2019
View this post on InstagramA bit of chaos at @target all registers down so ya can’t buy a thing! #TargetRun to a stop LoL
A post shared by BlindBagToyAddict (@blindbagtoyaddict) on
Sun-Times political reporter Tina Sfondeles sent out a friend’s photos of the insanity.
I am fascinated by the #targetdown situation. It is my happy place. Here are some shots of the madness. People abandoning their carts... and Starbucks being nice and giving out free coffee. Via my friend @bridgetshanahan. pic.twitter.com/MlEO9VtLAQ
— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) June 15, 2019
Some shoppers even came up with conspiracy theories of their own.
It’s one thing when #Russia interferes with our election BUT when they interfere with @Target we will shut them down!!!! #TargetDown #RegistersAreDown #TwentyFiveMinutesToCheckOut #Chicago
— Kelly (@Mrs_KBarnes) June 15, 2019
So if you were considering a Target run today — perhaps on one of those new electric scooters — it is now safe to do so.
