Marks & Spencer pauses online orders following cyber attack

British department store giant Marks & Spencer has said it has paused orders on its e-commerce site and app following a cyber attack earlier in the week.

In a statement on Instagram, the retailer said the decision was made as part of its “proactive management of a cyber incident”, with a team “working extremely hard to restart online and app shopping” in its wake.

Marks & Spencer had first confirmed on Tuesday, April 22, that it was dealing with a “cyber incident” after customers began reporting issues with its website.

At first, the retailer said that next to its stores, its website and app remained accessible, yet contactless payments and in-store Click & Collect orders were not operational, and “some delay to online delivery times” was expected.

While not disclosing the exact cause of the incident, the company did note that it had “made the proactive decision to move some of our processes offline to protect our colleagues, partners, suppliers and our business”.

It added at the time that customers did not need to take any action and, in its latest statement, reaffirmed that this “remains the case”. “If the situation changes we will let them know,” its statement continued.