Woolworths supermarkets briefly ground to a halt following a computer glitch on Thursday afternoon. The malfunction was reportedly causing all items priced under $10 to scan for free.

Staff at the Sydney Town Hall store told Fairfax Media they only ceased trading for about a minute. It is understood the problem occurred about 3pm and all stores are now back open and operating normally.

A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed there had been "some issues" with point of sale systems.

"We had a computer glitch. It was for a relatively short period and is now fixed," the spokesperson said.

"We're talking minutes rather than anything longer than that."