On December 19, 2025 (Friday), millions of Target customers in the U.S. experienced major service disruption through Target’s Mobile App and website on a peak shopping day during the busiest point of the Christmas shopping season. Between now and the Christmas Holiday, the number of last-minute shoppers is expected to reach an all-time high.
Many shoppers will be trying to make sure their orders are complete, view their order status and pick up any items for themselves or their friends and family members before the last day of shopping. As such, the online holiday shopping season of 2025 will likely be among the busiest times of eCommerce, leading to significant success for both Target and other retailers.
Service disruption tracking site Downdetector reported a high amount of service disruption being reported beginning early on Friday morning, and by that afternoon, there were over 12,000 reports of problems accessing the app, browsing products, placing orders, tracking orders and accessing Target’s digital services.
Increase in complaints noted across the country
As per the outage monitoring site Downdetector, over a thousand users indicated problems at approximately 4:42 PM EST. The bulk of the complaints were related to difficulties with the Target application and website, such as unsuccessful checkouts, errors in order tracking, and login complications.
Social media channels were rapidly inundated with posts from users who shared screenshots of error notifications and voiced their worries regarding postponed deliveries and unfulfilled promotions.
The timing of the holidays adds customer frustration
The outage happens at a notably sensitive time, as many shoppers are relying on online orders for holiday gifts, same-day pickups, and delivery tracking. Several users have voiced concerns that the app’s delayed access could disrupt delivery schedules just days before Christmas.
It is still unclear what caused the disruption or when full service will be restored. Target has yet to provide more details about the extent of the outage or whether customer data and orders were affected.
Social media is full of complaints
On Friday, Target’s app outage triggered significant frustration across social media, with users reporting problems including payment errors, missing order confirmations, and issues with pickup services.
One shopper mentioned that they had placed a drive-up order and were charged, but did not receive a confirmation email. When they accessed the app, an error message appeared stating “something went wrong,” leading them to request either a resolution or a refund.
FAQ’s On Target App Outage
When exactly was the Target app down?
The Target application and website went down on December 19 2025, which affected some customers in all states.
How did the outage affect Target?
The outage caused problems with the Target application, Target.com, among other things, with online ordering, order tracking, checkout, gift card processing and visibility of curbside pickup orders.
Was the Target Outage confirmed?
Yes, on December 19 2025, Target acknowledged that they were experiencing a system outage on their official X (Twitter) Account and also said their technical support teams were currently working diligently to solve the problem.
What was the cause of the Target outage?
Target did not provide a specific explanation, but analysts have identified several potential causes of the outage, including overwhelming amounts of business due to peak holiday traffic, creating increased stress on the servers and problems associated with backend technology malfunctions.
