B&Q closes website down due to demand from shoppers
DIY store B&Q has taken down its website due to an "unprecedented" number of visitors trying to order goods online.
Shoppers who try to get onto the website are greeted with a message that reads: "Due to the unprecedented number of visitors to the site today, we’ve had to take it down for a while.
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"When we’re back, please shop for essential and emergency items only. Thank you for your patience."
Hardware stores are considered to be "essential" and are allowed to stay open during the lockdown.
But most stores, including B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes, have decided to close stores anyway to protect staff and customers from spreading the virus.
B&Q is still offering an online service, giving customers a choice of home delivery or click and collect where your shopping will be brought to your car to minimise contact with staff in stores.
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But its website is struggling to cope under the extra demand.
The message on the B&Q website says that the takedown is temporary but it's not yet clear when it will be back up and running.
This morning, Wickes introduced an online queuing system to cope with the surge in demand, with shoppers waiting for around 12 minutes before entering the site.
It's not just hardware stores that have been struggling under the strain of an increase in traffic.
The Perfume Shop has today suspended all online deliveries, while Boots has also adopted an online queueing system.
Over the weekend, thousands of customers faced waiting for more than an hour in a virtual queue of 146,000 people.
For those shoppers who are still in need of garden and DIY goods can still place orders with rivals Homebase, Wickes and Screwfix.
Halfords has also temporarily closed all of its shop branches although it hopes to slowly reopen them to keep key workers on the road during the lockdown.
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As many outlets temporarily close their doors, there are many retailers that will still be operating.
Here’s our guide to which stores will remain open and a list of all retailers that will be temporarily closing during the coronavirus outbreak.
Households also spent an extra £63 in supermarkets in March, making it the biggest month on record for grocery sales.
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