Walmart shoppers across the United States faced significant disruptions on April 16 and 17, 2025, as a widespread technical glitch rendered the company's app and website nearly unusable just days before the Easter holiday. Reports of the outage began surfacing on social media platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), with users from states including Texas, Arizona, Missouri, and New York detailing their struggles to check out.
According to outage tracker DownDetector, the situation escalated dramatically around 2:25 PM ET on April 16, when reports surged to over 3,600 alerts every five minutes. "It's company wide," a Reddit user, claiming to be a Walmart employee, stated. "They've got every IT person working on it right now." The outage affected both the main Walmart app and the online stores for its Sam’s Club locations, causing frustration among customers eager to take advantage of Easter sales.
Online shopping has become a vital part of Walmart's revenue, with approximately $18 of every $100 spent at the retailer now occurring online. The company had recently launched a series of Easter promotions, including meals priced below $6 per person and children’s Easter baskets available for under $20. With the holiday approaching on April 20, 2025, many shoppers were keen to finalize their purchases.
Despite the temporary setback, Walmart is reportedly in a strong position moving into the second quarter of 2025. The retail giant hosted investor days recently, where executives expressed optimism about the company's sales prospects, even amid economic uncertainties. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon highlighted the company's ability to "play offense" in a challenging market, noting that tariffs could prompt the retailer to "invest in price" to maintain its competitive edge.
Retail analysts echoed these sentiments, emphasizing Walmart's organizational strength. Neil Saunders, a retail expert from GlobalData, remarked, "Walmart is a very organized and disciplined retailer and is in a better position than most because of its scale." This perspective is particularly poignant given that other retailers, such as Best Buy and Target, have indicated they may need to raise prices due to changing economic conditions.
On April 17, as the outage continued, thousands more users reported issues with Walmart's website and app. DownDetector recorded that 59% of users faced problems with the app, while 33% reported issues with the website. Additionally, 7% experienced difficulties during the checkout process after shopping on the app. One frustrated user tweeted, "Looks like @Walmart is more or less #down on both the #website and the #app. Just took 100+ retries to check the status of an order." Another echoed similar frustrations, stating, "Damn @Walmart ... is somebody sleeping on the job or what?!?! This app has been down for a while now. Get your shit together!"
As the outage persisted, Walmart's official channels remained largely silent regarding the cause, prompting further user frustration. Many took to social media to vent their grievances, sharing experiences of being unable to add items to their carts or receiving error messages when attempting to access product pages.
By late afternoon on April 17, some signs of recovery emerged. Reports on DownDetector began to decline, suggesting that the issues might be easing. By 4:51 PM ET, the number of outage reports had dropped significantly, indicating that customers were starting to regain access to the website and app functionalities. However, users remained cautious, with some still encountering intermittent issues.
Walmart's website and app issues come at a time when the company is also reevaluating its physical store footprint. Earlier in 2025, Walmart announced plans to close several underperforming locations, particularly in Georgia and California, where competition from e-commerce has intensified. The closures are part of a broader strategy to streamline operations in response to declining sales and market pressures. This year alone, Walmart has already shuttered stores in various locations, including Dunwoody, Georgia, and Towson, Maryland.
Founded by Samuel Moore Walton in 1962, Walmart has grown to become the largest retailer in the United States, revolutionizing the discount store concept. Walton's vision was to provide affordable prices to small-town consumers, a model that has proven immensely successful over the decades. Today, Walmart's vast scale gives it significant negotiating power in global markets, allowing it to keep prices competitive.
As the company navigates both digital and physical retail challenges, it remains to be seen how quickly it can resolve the ongoing technical issues and adapt to the evolving landscape of consumer shopping habits. With Easter just days away, the urgency to restore full functionality to its online services is paramount for Walmart, as millions of shoppers rely on its platforms for their holiday preparations.
In the meantime, customers are advised to remain patient as Walmart works to address the technical difficulties. While the company has not yet provided a detailed explanation for the outages, the situation underscores the increasing reliance on digital platforms for retail transactions, especially during peak shopping seasons.
