Albert Heijn lost roughly a quarter of its market share as a result of a cyber incident, according to De Telegraaf, which also reported which rival supermarkets gained the most from the disruption. The Dutch newspaper published its account on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.
The disruption affected online orders as well as store operations. According to AD.nl, Albert Heijn is compensating affected customers with a €10 shop credit and full loyalty stamp cards, while NU reports that customers whose online orders were hit are receiving their money back along with the shop credit. Distrifood carried an apology from AH chief executive Versteden-Van Duijn to customers.
NRC reports that what was first described as a "cybersecurity incident" has since been confirmed as a cyberattack, and that parent company Ahold Delhaize has filed a police report. No further details on the nature of the attack, its duration or the exact size of the market-share shift were available in the reporting summarized here.
The episode puts the spotlight on how quickly a major grocery chain's customers can move to competitors when digital ordering and store systems are disrupted, and on the compensation and communication steps a retailer takes afterward. What to watch next: whether Ahold Delhaize or Dutch authorities release further details on the attack, and whether Albert Heijn's market share recovers in subsequent sales figures.