Target’s digital services were reported to be experiencing an outage on Friday, according to Downdetector, the real-time outage reporting site that aggregates user-submitted status reports from around the world. At the time of reporting, users across multiple regions were unable to access Target’s website and related online services, with spikes in problem reports indicating interruption in normal service availability.
The outage affected both browsing and transaction functions for some users, although Target had not issued an official statement on the cause or scale of the disruption by the time of publication. Retail platforms like Target increasingly rely on cloud and edge infrastructure, meaning even temporary interruptions can have a wide impact on online shopping and order fulfillment.
Earlier on Friday, YouTube also experienced a significant service disruption that was captured by Downdetector and other outage tracking sites, with thousands of users reporting problems accessing videos, logging in, or using the platform. According to reports, the number of outage submissions peaked in the low tens of thousands before rapidly declining as the service was restored. Multiple regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, saw elevated reporting during the incident. Reuters noted that YouTube did not immediately comment on the cause of the outage.