Thousands of American shoppers faced significant hurdles in their last-minute holiday purchases as the popular Target mobile application suffered a widespread outage on Friday, December 19. The technical failure left users unable to place new orders or track existing deliveries, causing a surge in customer complaints across the country.
Spike in User Complaints and Nationwide Impact
Reports of the disruption began flooding in throughout the day and persisted into the evening, creating a major inconvenience during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. According to data from the outage tracking website Downdetector, over a thousand user reports were logged around 4:42 PM Eastern Standard Time.
The primary issues cited by customers included a complete failure at the checkout stage, errors in tracking purchased items, and an inability to log into their accounts. Social media platforms quickly became a hub for frustrated users, who shared screenshots of error messages and voiced concerns over potentially missed promotions and delayed gifts.
Target's Response and Limited Communication
Target officially acknowledged the problems affecting its digital platforms earlier on Friday. In a post on the social media platform X, the retail giant stated that it was experiencing intermittent technical issues and that its technical teams were actively working on implementing a solution.
The company sought to reassure the public by confirming that all its physical store locations remained open and fully operational. It encouraged customers to visit these stores in person to complete their shopping while the digital issues were being resolved. Target also issued an apology for the inconvenience caused but, as of Friday evening, had not provided a specific timeline for when full service would be restored.
Holiday Shopping Season Takes a Hit
The timing of this outage is particularly problematic, striking at the heart of the crucial final holiday shopping weekend before Christmas. Many consumers rely on the convenience of mobile apps for last-minute purchases and real-time order tracking, making this disruption a significant blow to their plans.
While the company's physical stores offer an alternative, the incident highlights the growing dependence on digital retail infrastructure and the widespread impact when such systems fail. Customers are now awaiting further official communication from Target regarding the complete resolution of the app's functionality.
