Registers temporarily shut down at a number of Woolworths stores across the country due to a major technical outage this afternoon.

Hundreds of customers took to social media to report the issue with#Woolworths becoming a trending topic on Twitter in Australia.

Just after 4.50pm, the supermarket giant took to Twitter to confirm the IT issue had been resolved.

Shoppers were told to leave groceries behind in Woolworths. (Image supplied)

“We can confirm that an IT issue impacted registers in our supermarkets for a short period of time this afternoon,” Woolworths tweeted.

“The registers are now back online in all our stores. We apologise for the inconvenience this caused our customers.”

Meanwhile, social media posts showed shoppers lined up in stores with their trolleys, unable to move.

It’s believed customers were also told to leave the stores, many leaving full trolleys behind.