Amazon Checkout Outage Frustrates Shoppers During Peak Holiday Season

Shoppers across the United States faced a major disruption on Wednesday. Amazon’s checkout system experienced widespread failures. The issue prevented thousands of customers from completing their purchases.

This outage hit during a critical pre-holiday shopping period. Reports flooded in from major cities nationwide. According to data from Downdetector, over 6,000 user reports were logged.

Widespread User Reports Detail Checkout Failures

Users encountered error messages when trying to finalize orders. The problems were concentrated on the website and mobile app. Social media platform X saw immediate complaints from frustrated customers.

One user humorously pleaded for the system to take their money. Another saw the glitch as a sign to avoid an impulse purchase. The sentiment reflected widespread annoyance during the busy Christmas shopping season.

Technical issues appeared concentrated in several metropolitan areas. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago were among the hotspots. Detroit and St. Louis also showed high numbers of problem reports.

Amazon has not yet released an official public statement on the cause. The company’s help account on X was tagged in numerous user posts. Customers shared screenshots showing generic error messages during payment.

Outage Follows Recent Major AWS Service Disruption

This incident follows a significant Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage last month. That earlier event in October took down many popular websites and services. It also affected Amazon’s own core platforms for several hours.

The connection between the two events remains unclear. AWS is the cloud infrastructure backbone for countless companies, including Amazon.com. A recurring pattern raises questions about system resilience.

The timing could not be worse for the e-commerce giant. Holiday sales are a crucial revenue driver. Any downtime directly impacts consumer trust and the company’s bottom line.

Shoppers may turn to competing retailers if reliability issues persist. This outage serves as a stark reminder of the digital economy’s fragility. When major platforms falter, daily life and commerce grind to a halt.

The Amazon checkout outage highlights our deep reliance on a few digital gatekeepers for essential services. As the holiday rush intensifies, all eyes will be on how quickly and transparently the company resolves these recurring technical failures.

Info at your fingertips

How long did the Amazon checkout outage last?

The full duration has not been officially confirmed by Amazon. User reports on Downdetector spiked for several hours on Wednesday morning. The issue appears to have been resolved by the afternoon in most regions.

Which areas were most affected by the outage?

Major U.S. metropolitan areas reported the highest concentration of issues. This included New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. The Downdetector outage map showed significant reports across the country.

Was Amazon Prime Day affected by this outage?

No, this outage occurred in early November. The major Prime Day sales events typically happen in July and October. The timing was instead related to the early start of the holiday shopping season.

Did the outage affect Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

There is no indication that this specific checkout outage was linked to a broader AWS failure. However, a separate, major AWS outage did occur in October, affecting many online services.

What should I do if my order failed during the outage?

You should first check your Amazon account orders page to see if the purchase went through. If the order is not listed, you will likely need to attempt the checkout process again. Your cart items should still be saved.