By Hamish Hastie
Coles stores around the country were forced to turn away customers after supermarket registers went down on Friday afternoon, before coming back online on Friday evening.
Staff were told IT issues caused the shutdowns and customers had to be turned away from checkouts after registers were unable to process financial transactions.
Groceries were left at the checkout in the Coles stores in Brunswick East. Shoppers have been turned away from some Coles outlets after the supermarket's cash registers were hit by an IT issue this afternoon.Credit: Nine News
Customers across the country took to social media to vent their frustration.
"Halfway through a shop and we are told that cash registers at all Coles stores are not working due to IT issues. They’re not sure for how long. Off to Woolies," Twitter user Tracey Findlay said.
A Coles spokeswoman confirmed it had closed its supermarkets temporarily due to a "technical issue" in processing payments.
"Our team is working hard to fix the issue and stores will reopen as soon as possible," she said. "We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience."
Barkley Square Coles in Melbourne's inner north was also impacted.Credit: The Age
Coles Express and Coles Liquor stores were unaffected.
In a later announcement, the spokeswoman said, "Coles supermarkets nationally have reopened for trade after a technical issue with our point of sale system meant we were briefly unable to process transactions this afternoon.
"To thank customers for their patience while our team worked hard to get us back up and running, Coles supermarket shoppers will receive triple flybuys points on their food and groceries this weekend.
"And to help customers who were unable to complete their shopping on Friday afternoon, Coles Online is offering free home delivery on orders of $50 and above until Sunday 18 October."
Retail rival Woolworths tweeted that its stores continued to trade as normal.
Grocery shopping is one of the few approved reasons Melburnians are allowed to leave their homes at the moment, under strict coronavirus restrictions.
"This is the only time I'm allowed out of the house," one disappointed shopper told Nine News.
"So if Coles is shut I've got to go drive 20 minutes now to the next shop."