Target Says Glitch That Caused Sunday’s Long Lines Was Not Result Of Hack

(Photo: Twitter User @Duhbyo47)

(Photo: Twitter User @Duhbyo47)

If you shopped at Target yesterday evening, there’s a chance your wait in the checkout line was longer than usual after a vague “glitch” caused long delays at a number of stores around the country. The retailer is now proactively trying to calm concerns by saying that the hiccup was not related to any sort of data breach.

“We’ve identified a checkout issue at select stores,” the retailer Tweeted on Sunday night. “The issue is not related to security & is being resolved. We apologize to those impacted.”

Target shoppers from coast to coast posted complaints about delays and photos of crowded stores on Sunday:

And another:

The company said late Sunday night the problem — which it has still not described in detail — has been cleared up.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that shoppers at some stores were being placated with freebies, like cookies, bottled water, popcorn, and stuff from Starbucks while they waited.

As anyone who wasn’t in a coma during the holiday season knows, Target was the subject of a massive data breach that compromised personal information — including credit and debit card numbers — for more than 100 million shoppers at the store’s retail locations. The hackers in that mass theft had been able to access the Target in-store payment system, so the retailer had to get out in front of this story and explain that this was not a repeat attempt or after-effect.

Target says glitch at registers across U.S. not hacker-related [StarTribune.com]

Glitch backs up checkout lines at Target stores [SFgate.com]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.