Computer glitch shuts down Australia's supermarket chain

SYDNEY: Grocery shoppers in Australia at the supermarket chain Woolworths, were left stranded at the checkout on Monday, after a systems error forced customers to abandon their items and leave the store.

Around 500 stores nationwide were affected by the computer glitch that left checkout operators unable to process transactions, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the local media, "a corruption of the supermarket's database", was the likely cause of the problem.

Chief executive of the company Brad Banducci "apologised unreservedly to customers and store teams for the inconvenience caused".

But thousands of furious customers took to social media to voice their anger in a barrage of criticism. One user on Twitter described the scenes as "utter chaos nationwide".

By 4.30, however, Banducci announced "our systems ultimately (have) self-corrected themselves", and the supermarket came back online.