Target confirmed that a glitch in its customer checkout system delayed the operations of several retail stores across the United States over the weekend, but the company has since identified the source and fixed the problem.
Target added that the issue was not related to data security, nor was it caused by a hacker trying to get into the company's system.
"Earlier this evening, Target experienced a glitch that impacted the speed of checkout at some of our U.S. stores. Since that time, we've been able to restore our check-out process. Once again, we sincerely apologize to anyone inconvenienced by this issue," said Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder.
The issue spread across social media on Sunday, with reports of long lines and closed cash registers in the checkout counters of several Target outlets. Customers in at least five states and in New York City complained of Target's inability to process payments made through debit card, resulting in backed up lines.
An affected customer told NBC4 through Twitter that a Target store in Tustin handed out $10 coupons in apology to the massive delay. Some reports said that cookies and bottled water were also handed out to waiting customers, while some reports said that customers received free items from Starbucks and popcorn.
Target announced on Sunday evening that all customer checkout systems had been restored to normal working operations.
The systems issue comes at a bad time for Target, which is still trying to regain the trust of customers after a security breach by hackers in the holiday season last year that compromised the credit card and debit card information of about 40 million Target shoppers. The security issue, which occurred between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 of last year, forced Target to offer its credit monitoring services at no cost for a year, along with a 10 percent discount over a weekend on all in-store Target purchases.
The security breach is seen as the primary cause of Target's massive drop in fourth quarter earnings year over year, as the company posted $520 million in net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2013 as compared to $961 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. An analyst estimated the cost of the breach to be between $400 million and $450 million, which include the payment of fines to credit card companies and the cost of services that Target launched to aid in the rebuilding of the company's image.
