Online shopping and deliveries to continue despite lockdown of “non-essential” UK shops

ONLINE deliveries and shopping will continue despite the move to close all non-essential shops this evening.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all shops other than a small handful including supermarkets and pharmacies will be forced to close.

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But he urged Brits to order food online, after announcing a stricter lockdown across the UK.

He also announced:

• Brits must stay at home unless they need to get essentials, go to work, exercise or seek medical help
• Gatherings of more than two people at once are banned, including weddings and baptisms 
• You can leave your home to exercise but just once a day
• Communal play and exercise areas inside parks will also be shut down, but not parks themselves
• Places of worship such as churches and mosques must also shut, except to host for funerals
• All "non-essential' shops must close by midnight tonight

And travel on roads, trains and buses was also banned, unless it’s essential to get to work.

Anyone breaking the rules will be fined at least £30 - and up to £1,000 if they fail to self-isolate.

The Prime Minister urged Brits to use online supermarket deliveries to avoid shops.

But many shoppers have struggled to get supermarket delivery slots, with Ocado even pulling its app and no longer taking new orders.

It comes after cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants were told to close by the end of the day on Friday.

Restaurants and food chains were allowed to stay open to provide takeaways and delivery services to customers.

While some of the nation’s best loved brands - including John Lewis, New Look and IKEA - are temporarily closing in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

Shoppers won’t be able to purchase anything in-store but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on the things you need.

Many of the brands closing down their high street branches are still operating an online delivery service - and in some cases they are even waiving delivery fees and extending their refund rights to help customers out.

But its likely that delivery slots will quickly sell out.

Here’s how you can still make purchases from some of the top high street brands:

JOHN LEWIS

John Lewis is closing all 50 stores at the end of today, but their website is still up and running for deliveries.

The company is still delivering large items, provided no members of the household are self-isolating - and will honour home installation and assembly services booked before March 19th.

The company added: “Deliveries are currently on time but this may change. Our carriers will contact customers who are affected on a case-by-case basis.”

John Lewis are also allowing late returns for anyone who is self-isolating and have said carriers can collect smaller items from a safe place to be returned.

NEW LOOK

New Look closed all their stores at 5pm on Saturday - but are still operating an online delivery service.

The company is still delivering to homes across the UK and Collect+ locations. They have also extended their normal returns policy for three months.

New Looks says: “This policy applies to all items purchased, whether full-priced, promotion or sale. So long as you made a purchase with us after 16th February 2020, you can still get a refund.

“As all our UK & ROI stores are temporarily closed, any purchases you have made in store that were within the 28 day returns period as of 16th March 2020, can be returned with a valid receipt until 15th June 2020.”

IKEA

IKEA temporarily closed all their stores in the UK & Ireland on Friday March 20th.

You can still purchase items online - and IKEA are allowing customers the option of a contact-free delivery if they would prefer.

The company has said they will be in touch with anyone who has pre-booked kitchen planning appointments to organise virtual or remote planning options.

H&M

H&M closed all its stores for an initial two-week period because of coronavirus.

You can still make purchases online, and the store is offering free standard delivery and free and flexible returns on all hm.com orders.

It has also extended its returns policy from 28 to 100 days for all items bought online or in-store.

TOPSHOP

The Arcadia group - which owns Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Miss Selfridge - closed all their stores on Friday.

Their websites all remain active so customers are still able to order online.

While you can’t order deliveries to collect in store for now, you can still order to your home - and the retail giant has waived delivery fees for the time being.

Topshop have also said they are offering contact free deliveries for anyone who requests them.

A spokesperson added: “For in store purchases we’re extending our returns policy by 14 days once our stores reopen.”

MISS SELFRIDGE

Miss Selfridge are also offering free deliveries from their website while their stores are temporarily closed.

The company said they are “experiencing no issues” with delivery times and said their returns policy remains as normal.

HMV

HMV temporarily closed their stores nationwide on Sunday, but are continuing a reduced delivery service.

They have warned there may be “a slight delay of store.hmv.com orders”, but added: “We are doing our utmost to get items to our customers as soon as possible.”

They have also extended their refund policy, so customers have until the end of april to return any orders placed this month.

They added: “Should the health concerns still be in place at the end of April 2020, we will review our returns policy again and amend this accordingly, to offer our customers more flexibility with purchases.”

GAP

Gap have closed all their UK and Ireland stores due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

They have stopped their Click + Collect service, but are offering free delivery on orders of more than £25.

They have also extended their returns policy, so customers have until 1 July 2020 for all purchases made between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2020.

DISNEY STORES

Disney Stores are temporarily closed, but items are still available to order online.

They have extended their returns policy for items bought in-store, so you can return anything unwanted once stores reopen.

RIVER ISLAND

River Island closed all their stores last Friday, but say they are still operating a 24/7 delivery service.

The clothes store are offering contactless delivery for customers who request it - as well as deliveries to local collection points.

River Island have also updated their returns policy, so customers who bought items in-store have 28 days from when shops reopen to send things back.

They added: “Online shoppers have 28 days to return via our free services, as standard, with exceptions in special cases.”

TK MAXX

TK Maxx has closed its stores throughout Europe as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

You can get online home deliveries as usual - but will not be able to Click and Collect from stores.

The company is offering contact-free delivery and the returns policy has been extended by 30 days from the date the stores reopen.

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