Dive Brief:
- Kwik Trip has restored “full access to many” of its internal systems more than a week after news surfaced of a company-wide outage, according to a social media statement Tuesday from the company.
- While Kwik Trip's payment and card processing system has been unaffected, its Kwik Rewards platform remains down. The retailer expects its rewards program — as well as other systems affected by the outage — to “be restored in the coming days,” according to the announcement.
- Rumors have circulated over the past week that the outage was caused by a cyber attack. Kwik Trip declined to comment when asked for further details.
Dive Insight:
When news surfaced that Kwik Trip’s systems were down, the company revealed that its rewards platform was experiencing issues that “will impact the usage of the Kwik Rewards app or website and in-store earning/redemptions.”
The outage also impacted payroll systems, and cut off access to Kwik Trip’s mobile app and website. Kwik Trip posted signs on its doors and inside stores apologizing to customers for the outage.
Although its loyalty program is down, Kwik Rewards Plus debit and credit cards are now functioning at stores, according to the announcement. Rewards members can expect their in-store and fuel discounts to be awarded in the form of a statement credit once systems are restored, Kwik Trip said.
“We will work with you in resolving and correcting any potential late penalties assessed by Kwik Trip as soon as Kwik Rewards comes back online,” the company said in the announcement.
Kwik Trip said in its announcement that, as of now, it does not have any evidence that any personal or confidential information was exposed during the outage. However, it also said it’s “thoroughly investigating the incident now with third-party information security experts.”
The company said it does not have a definitive timeline for when its investigation will be complete, but it hopes this will be “in the coming days.”
La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip is one of the largest c-store operators in the U.S. with over 800 locations in its network.
