Coles is forced to close EVERY one of its 800 supermarkets after major nationwide IT glitch left forced furious customers to abandon their trolleys in the aisles

Every Coles supermarket in Australia was temporarily closed due to a serious, nationwide IT glitch.

Card machines were down at Coles supermarkets across the country, leaving Friday afternoon shoppers unable to pay at the checkout.

Hundreds of customers trying to stock up on groceries for the weekend turned to social media to express their frustration, as some reported being turned away. 

Many abandoned their trolleys full of groceries after what is believe to be a major IT problem affecting all 806 supermarkets - but not Express or Liquor stores.

'Just stopped at Coles people out front saying all Coles stores in Australia closed due to it issues. Wow!' one shopper wrote on Twitter. 

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A shopper in Woollongong, south of Sydney, posted pictures of shopping trolleys packed with groceries left at the checkout

'Every Coles in Australia has their registers server down and there's just lines of people with trolleys. LMAO,' another posted. 

A spokesperson for the supermarket giant told Daily Mail Australia, Coles supermarkets temporarily closed due to a technical issue with processing payments.  

A customer who tried to go shopping at Byford Coles on the southern outskirts of Perth said: 'Coles is down nationwide, can't get served, everything is down. Doors are now closed.' 

Another shopper on the east coast of Australia in Woollongong, south of Sydney, posted pictures of shopping trolleys packed with groceries left at the checkout.

'Trolleys full of groceries left in Coles aisles and staff begin unpacking fridge perishable as registers around the nation suffer technical failures,' the woman wrote.

It is understood an IT glitch is responsible for the outage (pictured, customers at MT Druitt in Sydney are left unable to pay)

'Trolleys full of groceries left in Coles aisles and staff begin unpacking fridge perishable as registers around the nation suffer technical failures,' a woman posted to Twitter (pictured, a Coles supermarket in Woollongong)

It is understood that a nationwide IT glitch is responsible for the outage.

'Halfway through a shop and we are told that cash registers at all Coles stores are not working due to IT issues,' a woman posted to Twitter.

'They're not sure for how long. Off to Woolies.'  

The situation was also wreaking havoc in locked down Melbourne.

'Doors down at Coles Spencer Street. Staff say technical issue with checkout system has forced all Vic stores to shut, unsure when they'll be back online,' a shopper wrote on Twitter. 

Coles' largest competitor Woolworths also took to social media to fire a shot at their retail rivals.

'Our payment systems are up and running. All stores continue to trade as normal,' the company posted to their social media platforms.  

But just before 8pm, the problem was resolved and all stores resumed normal operations. 

'Coles supermarkets nationally have reopened for trade after a technical issue with our point of sale system meant we were briefly unable to process transactions this afternoon,' a Coles spokesperson said.

'To thank customers for their patience while our team worked hard to get us back up and running, Coles supermarket shoppers will receive triple flybuys points on their food and groceries this weekend.

'And to help customers who were unable to complete their shopping on Friday afternoon, Coles Online is offering free home delivery on orders of $50 and above until Sunday 18 October.'

The outage was also wreaking havoc in locked down Melbourne (pictured, customers are turned away at Spencer Street Coles)