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Albert Heijn, the Netherlands’ largest supermarket chain, has been managing an IT incident since Sunday that has disrupted its app, website, customer service, and home delivery. The issue also affects its sister chains. As of Monday, there is no update on the cause or when services will resume.
What is affected
The issue began on Sunday afternoon, 11 October, and affects several Ahold Delhaize brands: Albert Heijn, Etos, and Gall & Gall. As a precaution, the company has disabled certain systems during its investigation.
Customers are most affected online. Websites and apps are inaccessible, preventing new or managed online orders, and home deliveries are temporarily suspended. Customer service is also unavailable.
Physical stores remain open, and checkouts are functioning normally, so in-store shopping is unaffected. However, all Mijn AH app features, including the digital Bonuskaart, savings schemes, digital stamps, Bonus Box offers, and Air Miles, are unavailable.
A pricing quirk and compensation
Due to affected pricing systems, some electronic shelf labels may display last week’s promotional prices instead of current ones, resulting in discrepancies between shelf and checkout prices. National Bonus offers from the paper leaflet remain valid.
Albert Heijn has stated that customers missing personal discounts due to the outage will be compensated when possible and advises shoppers to retain their receipts. “We sincerely apologise for this situation,” the company said.
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Cyberattack or not?
The main question, given the app’s five million active users, is the cause of the outage. The company has not disclosed whether it was caused by a cyberattack, a technical failure, or another issue.
Albert Heijn’s public statements have emphasised data protection. “Protecting the data of our customers, employees and partners is our top priority,” the company said, adding that it is working to restore services. The company is investigating whether any customer data has been affected. Its careful communication and decision to disable systems are typical responses to a security incident, though it has not confirmed anything.
This situation is particularly sensitive given Ahold Delhaize’s involvement in recent Dutch data breaches and a previous incident in which a franchisee stole Albert Heijn staff data. For now, shoppers are advised to visit stores in person, bring a physical Bonuskaart if available, verify prices at checkout, and monitor official channels for updates.