On December 30, 2025, Walmart’s website and mobile app experienced a widespread outage that left more than 6,500 shoppers unable to access the retailer’s e‑commerce platform. The disruption was reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Downdetector data, which logged over 6,400 complaints—roughly three‑quarters of them from the mobile app and the remainder from the website. The outage prevented many customers from checking out, effectively blocking a portion of Walmart’s digital sales during a peak holiday period when online demand is at its highest.
The incident underscores a vulnerability in Walmart’s digital infrastructure, a critical component of its strategy to convert its physical footprint into a high‑margin e‑commerce ecosystem. While the outage itself was brief, the fact that it occurred during the holiday season—when the company’s e‑commerce sales grew 28% in Q3 FY26 and 27% globally—means the lost revenue could be significant, even if the exact dollar impact is not yet quantified. The disruption also erodes customer confidence and could expose Walmart to regulatory scrutiny over consumer protection and data security, especially as the retailer continues to invest heavily in automation and AI‑driven fulfillment.
Walmart’s e‑commerce operations became profitable in Q1 FY25, and the company has been aggressively expanding its digital capabilities, including a $520 million investment in Symbotic’s AI‑powered robotics platform and broader AI integration across its supply chain. The outage may prompt accelerated investments in infrastructure resilience, as the company has repeatedly emphasized the importance of “five‑nines” uptime—99.999% availability—as a table‑stakes requirement for modern retailers. Management has highlighted the need for robust, scalable technology systems to support its high‑margin ecosystem platform, and the incident could influence investor perception of Walmart’s operational risk profile during the holiday season.
Walmart has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the outage. However, the incident aligns with the company’s broader narrative of rapid digital transformation and the challenges that accompany large‑scale technology deployments. The outage serves as a reminder that even a leading retailer with significant resources can experience critical service interruptions, and it may accelerate the company’s focus on building more resilient, cloud‑native platforms to safeguard customer experience and revenue streams during peak periods.
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