Target Site Crashes Under Strain of Cyber Monday Shoppers

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We have become accustomed to designer and retailer collabs, like H&M x Balmain and even Target x Lilly Pullitzer, drawing crowds large enough to take down websites. However, Target is introducing us to even more anxiety-inducing shopping experiences. The retailer's website was just brought down by the swell of customers trying to take advantage of its Cyber Monday deals.

In Target's defense, the retailer was offering up some pretty sweet deals. It was the first time in the retailer's history "Target has discounted virtually everything on Target.com," according to CNBC. In addition to the sitewide 15% off, there were also larger deals — dubbed doorbusters — on a large selection of DVDs and electronics, among other products.

Target's outages are actually nothing new for a blockbuster Black Friday and Cyber Monday stretch. Online sales performed much better than in-person shopping this weekend, according to WWD. Retail Dive reports that Walmart and Neiman Marcus also faced similar problems with their websites on Black Friday.

The Target site is back up (for now), but you can see the message it posted asking for customers's patience below.

Update: A spokesperson for Target has responded to the site's outages with the following statement.

We are seeing a tremendous response to today’s 15 percent off sitewide offer. The volume is already twice as high as our busiest day ever. We continue to receive and process thousands of orders from guests who are shopping the entire site and taking advantage of the discount coupled with free shipping. As we experience spikes in traffic, our systems place guests in a queue and prompt them to access the site later. We apologize to guests who experience any delays, we appreciate their patience, and encourage them to try again in a few minutes by refreshing their browser.

Update, 2:49: A spokesperson for Target tells Racked that its website is putting people into a virtual line to deal with unprecedented traffic. While thousands are checking out, those who aren't are getting the full Black Friday experience by waiting in lines to browse the selection.