Sainsbury’s and Tesco resolve technical issues that disrupted deliveries

16 March 2024 , 18:41

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Sainsbury’s apologised to customers affected. Photograph: Geoff Smith/Alamy

Sainsbury’s has resolved technical issues that led to the cancellation of online grocery deliveries and card payments in stores on Saturday.

The supermarket chain was unable to fulfil the “vast majority” of its online orders after an overnight software update led to problems that affected some stores, grocery online services and its ability to contact customers. 

Tesco has also resolved a technical issue that had affected a small proportion of its deliveries on Saturday. The issue, which did not impact in-store shopping and online orders, was not connected to the issue affecting Sainsbury’s.

A spokesperson from Sainsbury’s said: “We can confirm that contactless payments are now back up and running in all our stores, alongside all other forms of payment. Our Groceries Online ordering system is working as normal and customers can place an order for delivery anytime from tomorrow.” 

It said on Saturday morning they were “working hard to fix the issue” and apologised to customers whose deliveries were affected.

Earlier on Saturday, a spokesperson for Tesco said: “The vast majority of our online orders are being delivered as normal, but due to a technical issue earlier today we have had to cancel a small number of orders. We are contacting affected customers directly, and we’re really sorry for the inconvenience.”

Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury’s, had also been affected by the software update, meaning customers may have had issues ordering new items or collecting orders in-store. It said there may be delays in fulfilling orders placed on Saturday.

One customer told PA Mediashe was meant to have a “very important” order delivered on Saturday morning, which did not happen. Yvonne, 56, from the Reading area, said: “The main issue I have with this is the poor communication from Sainsbury’s to its customers.

“It was obvious something was wrong at 7am as that’s when they send the receipts normally ... [but there was] no statement until about 8.30, only seemed to be on social media which not all customers will have.

“[It] should have been an email or text to customers which would have helped those like myself expecting an early morning delivery.”

Last month, Sainsbury’s announced its decision to use more automated tills and warehouse robots as well as AI-forecasting tools to ensure it has the right stock in stores as part of a £1bn cost-cutting effort over the next three years.

Simon Roberts, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said the group’s “legacy systems” were slowing it down and leading to more waste than necessary. “We have got to find better ways of doing things,” he said.

James Smith