Amazon customers across the United States faced major issues while shopping on Wednesday, with thousands reporting problems checking out on the platform. According to outage tracker Downdetector, over 6,000 users reported difficulties at the time of writing, most of them related to the checkout process.
The timing of the disruption has frustrated many users, as the holiday shopping season is in full swing and Christmas is just weeks away. One user commented on Downdetector, “FIX THIS AMAZON….. I was going to order my Christmas tree but I can’t because checkout’s down.”
Another shopper joked, “I fill up my Amazon cart, I go to give Jeff Bezos my money, but it won’t let me. Jeff please take my money, I need this coax cable?” Others saw the glitch as a sign to stop spending, with one post reading, “It won’t let me check out, guess it’s a sign to not buy from Amazon.”
Reports of outages came from major US cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), users posted screenshots of error messages and asked if Amazon was down. “Hey @amazon @AmazonHelp, the checkout isn’t working on your app. It says ‘sorry something went wrong on our end,’” one user wrote, using the hashtag #AmazonDown.
As of now, Amazon has not issued any official statement addressing the outage.
This disruption comes weeks after a major AWS outage on October 20 that caused several popular websites and Amazon-owned platforms, including Prime Video, Alexa, and Ring doorbells, to go offline for hours.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
