Ahold Delhaize Cyberattack: Which US Grocery Chains Are Hit

Ahold Delhaize, the owner of Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Giant Food and The Giant Company, said on Monday, Oct. 12, that it had taken some systems offline after a security issue in its network, while its stores stayed open. In the U.S., the clearest reported effects so far are on online orders at Food Lion and on employee systems at Stop & Shop. The part of the business most exposed is also its fastest growing: U.S. online sales were $1.46 billion in the second quarter, or about $16 million a day by our estimate, and grew 14.5%, the company's latest quarterly report shows.

What Ahold Delhaize Has Said

The company's statement, datelined Zaandam, the Netherlands, was brief. "Ahold Delhaize is experiencing a security issue within its network," it said. "This includes taking some systems offline to help protect them. At this time, our stores are open and serving customers." It did not say which systems or brands were affected, whether customer data was involved, or when services would return.

In Europe the disruption is broad. Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall websites and the Albert Heijn app were down and not taking online orders, and loyalty discounts were not working, NL Times reported. Albert Heijn called it a "cybersecurity incident."

Status of Each U.S. Chain

• Food Lion: Online orders affected. An internal memo shared by employees called it an IT outage and said a "store may be unable to shop, stage, or hand off orders," BleepingComputer reported.
• Stop & Shop: Employee systems affected. Workers were having trouble accessing schedules and pay stubs, BleepingComputer reported.
• Hannaford: Customer reports of problems. Users logged service problems on Downdetector on Monday, IBTimes reported. The company has not confirmed a Hannaford outage.
• Giant Food: No word yet. We found no company or news report of a specific disruption as of Monday morning ET.
• The Giant Company: No word yet, on the same basis.

For shoppers, the practical guidance from the company is limited to the statement that stores are open. Customers relying on pickup or delivery orders should check with their local store before heading out.

What Is at Stake in U.S. Online Sales

Ahold Delhaize runs 2,021 U.S. stores, according to its second-quarter interim report. U.S. net sales were $15.1 billion in the 13 weeks of the quarter, and $1.46 billion of that came from online sales. That is about 9.7% of U.S. sales, by our calculation, and about $16 million a day over the 91-day quarter, by our estimate.

Online is where the U.S. business has been finding growth. U.S. online sales rose 14.5% at constant exchange rates, the ninth straight quarter of double-digit growth, with Food Lion growing more than 20%, the report says. By contrast, U.S. comparable sales excluding gasoline rose just 0.8%, and the company said comparable growth was driven by online sales. An outage that stops Food Lion stores from staging or handing off orders lands on the brand leading that growth.

The daily figure is an average, not a loss estimate. Some shoppers will simply buy in store instead, and the company has not said how many orders, if any, were cancelled.

Ahold Delhaize Has Been Here Before

In November 2024, Ahold Delhaize USA said it had detected "a cybersecurity issue within its U.S. network" that affected "a number of pharmacies and certain e-commerce operations," using nearly the same language about taking systems offline. Hannaford's website and app were down for several days and pickup and delivery orders were halted, Grocery Dive reported at the time. The company later confirmed that files were stolen in that attack, and BleepingComputer reported that personal data of more than 2.2 million people was taken.

What to Watch Next

The key questions are whether U.S. pharmacies and payments are affected, as they partly were in 2024, whether any data was taken, and how long online ordering stays down. Grocers are leaning harder on convenience, with Walmart moving into small-basket restaurant delivery, and shoppers already making fewer trips. Ahold Delhaize's next quarterly report should show whether the outage dented online sales.

Cover photo: Yellow and green network cables by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License.