Hannaford, a major supermarket chain in the Ahold Delhaize group, is compensating its customers after a prolonged online service interruption by offering discounts of $10 on purchases of $100 or more. The coupons, shared via email, aim to ease frustrations caused by the outage and are valid until November 27.
In the emailed apology, Hannaford acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the outage: “We appreciate your patience while our website was down and are sorry that you were not able to use your Just for You coupons as you had planned.”
The outage, which began around Nov. 7, was the result of a cybersecurity issue that took Hannaford’s website and app down, forcing online orders to be canceled. On Nov. 18, Hannaford announced on Facebook that its website had resumed operations and time slots were available for pickup and delivery.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and deeply value your trust in us to nourish your families.” declared the company.
Parent company Ahold Delhaize confirmed the cybersecurity breach on Nov. 8, launched an investigation and notified authorities. While Hannaford’s platforms were shut down completely, other US brands under Ahold Delhaize’s control (including Stop & Shop, The Giant Company, Giant Food and Food Lion) continued to operate, although customers reported some disruptions to delivery services. pickup and delivery.
During the same period, Stop & Shop also faced widespread product out-of-stocks in its produce departments, which the chain attributed to computer system issues affecting product shipments. Despite these issues, all Ahold Delhaize stores continued physical operations without interruption.
While investigations into the cybersecurity incident continue, Hannaford has not yet revealed specific details about the breach. Meanwhile, the chain’s effort to regain customer trust with discounts underscores its commitment to maintaining strong relationships during difficult times.