Sainsbury’s e-commerce site and mobile app have been down for several hours today, leaving shoppers unable to order groceries online.

A number of disgruntled customers have flagged this up on social media, with the retailer claiming that it is an issue at their end and advising them to clear their cookies and cache and try another browser or device.

@sainsburys Why can’t I book a delivery slot? Keep getting this message. Tried using app and website direct. Same error. Slot is 2 days away. pic.twitter.com/a79MaLYAPQ
— Hannah Ross (@hannahjaneross) July 6, 2021

@sainsburys how long is your website going to be down? I cannot amend my order and have been trying all morning.
— Donna Marie (@Donna_Marie81) July 6, 2021

When we at RTIH ventured on to the Sainsbury’s site at 8.20PM BST and attempted to amend an order, we received the following message: “Sorry. For technical reasons, we have not been able to connect you to the page you requested and we hope to be able to do so soon. Please try again. Thank you.”

And, yes, we cleared our cookies and cache etc.

Sainsbury’s did not respond to our request for comment.

Old habits die hard

Food shoppers are starting to return to pre-pandemic habits, Sainsbury’s said earlier this week.

Online demand has fallen from peak levels as people return to stores.

However, e-commerce sales are way above pre-pandemic levels. Sainsbury's reported that 18% of its sales are online, compared with 8% in 2019-20.

Groceries Online sales were up 29% with two-year growth of 142%. We’re outperforming our competitors for customer satisfaction in online and are continuing to gain online market share #JSQ1 $SBRY pic.twitter.com/Hl9Sd2XxdB
— Sainsbury's News (@SainsburysNews) July 6, 2021

Simon Roberts, Chief Executive at J Sainsbury, said: “Our colleagues are doing a brilliant job of giving great customer service and continuing to adapt as restrictions ease and shopping habits change.”

“Over the coming months we expect to see customer shopping patterns normalise further and we are well set up to serve them however they want to shop.”