Empty shelves follow cyber incident at Albert Heijn
The supermarket chain still cannot deliver online orders and warns of differences between stores.
Follow-up to: Albert Heijn halts deliveries after cyber incident Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 08:59
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The consequences of the cyber incident at Albert Heijn are becoming more visible in stores. Fresh produce is less available in some places, while websites, apps, customer service and deliveries are still not fully operational.
Albert Heijn was still experiencing disruption on Tuesday following the cybersecurity incident that began on Sunday afternoon. New reports of empty shelves are consistent with the supermarket chain’s warning that vegetables, fruit and other fresh produce in particular may be temporarily less available.
The chain has switched off several systems as a precaution to protect its IT environment. As a result, customers cannot place new online orders and existing orders are not being delivered. The stores remain open, according to Albert Heijn.
The problems are also affecting logistics. Work came to a standstill at several distribution centres, meaning supplies cannot be planned according to the usual system. Albert Heijn said availability may vary by store and product. That uncertainty makes it more difficult for suppliers and branches to respond quickly.
The cause has not yet been established. Ahold Delhaize, Albert Heijn’s parent company, refers to a security problem within the network. The group has not confirmed that attackers gained access to systems or that data was stolen. It is therefore too early to speak of a hack or ransomware attack.
Digital consequences are also noticeable in stores. Electronic shelf labels may show outdated promotional prices, while a different price is charged at the checkout. The Bonuskaart, personal offers and various loyalty programmes are temporarily not working. Albert Heijn is asking customers to keep their receipts and says it intends to compensate them later for missed personal discounts.
The disruption is commercially significant because it affects not only an online shop, but also distribution, pricing information, loyalty programmes and customer service. At the time of the latest public company updates, it was not yet known how long the disruption would last or whether the empty shelves would spread further.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article’s core is based on statements from Ahold Delhaize and Albert Heijn and on independent reporting about empty shelves. The cause of the incident is explicitly not presented as established.
- confirmed Albert Heijn and Ahold Delhaize switched off systems as a precaution following a security incident. — This is stated in both companies’ statements. source
- confirmed Online orders and deliveries are temporarily not possible. — Albert Heijn reports that logistics systems have been switched off and online orders cannot be delivered. source
- confirmed Fresh produce in particular may be less available. — The chain explicitly warned of differences in availability and identified fresh produce as a vulnerable category. source
- confirmed The cause and any data theft have not been established. — The companies have not confirmed a hack, ransomware or data theft. source
Editor's note
The precautionary shutdown of systems, the suspension of online deliveries and the warning about reduced availability of fresh produce are certain. The technical cause, any data theft and the eventual extent of the empty shelves remain unknown.Sources
- Ahold Delhaize takes precautionary measures following cybersecurity incident — Ahold Delhaize
- Mediastatement inzake IT incident — Albert Heijn
- Albert Heijn waarschuwt voor lege schappen in supermarkten, oorzaak IT-incident onbekend — NH Nieuws
- Grote problemen bij Albert Heijn leggen kwetsbaarheid voedselvoorziening bloot — RadioTV Zaanstreek
The story so far
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 07:30 Websites and apps of Ahold shops hit by outage
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 08:28 IT incident hits three Ahold retail chains
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 10:58 Ahold shuts down systems after security incident
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 14:58 Ahold investigates security incident, shops remain open
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 16:01 Picnic and Jumbo see extra demand after Albert Heijn outage
- Monday, 12 October 2026, 22:30 Albert Heijn distribution centres halted, empty shelves loom
- Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 07:57 Albert Heijn websites remain offline after cyber incident
- Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 08:59 Albert Heijn halts deliveries after cyber incident
- Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 09:28 Empty shelves follow cyber incident at Albert Heijn (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „albert heijn”
- Het Parool — „albert heijn”
- de Volkskrant — „albert heijn”