NEXT, River Island and TKMaxx have stopped taking online orders and shut down its website to keep staff safe during the coronavirus crisis.
The fashion houses closed all of their shops following Boris Johnson’s address last week.
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All non-essential stores have been ordered to close to help stop the spread of coronavirus in a bid to ease the pressure on the NHS.
Retailers are allowed to continue to run online and offer a home delivery service.
But now, all three retailers have taken the decision to cease operating all together after warehouse and distribution staff felt that they shouldn’t be working in the current climate.
A statement on the Next website said: “As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to close our warehouse and distribution operations until further notice.
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“We apologise for the inconvenience but know that you will understand.”
Shoppers who try to log on to the Next website are redirected to the take down statement and unable to browse products.
Orders that were not able to be sent out of the warehouse yesterday evening will be processes “as soon as we can”.
The My Account function, which shoppers use to manage orders, is currently unavailable but hopes to be back up and running by 3pm today.
TKMaxx has also stopped taking new orders but has promised that ones that have already been placed will be processed as normal.
The retailer has extended its returns policy to 30 days from when the stores re-open and the website is back up and running.
It will also be contacting customers who’ve placed click and collect orders that haven’t yet been processed and is asking shoppers not to post any returns while the site is down.
“Our thoughts are with people around the world who have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and we hope you all keep safe during these unprecedented times,” a statement on the website reads.
River Island is still taking online orders but warning customers that it can’t guarantee when it will be delivered and that it could “take weeks”.
“The government has said online retailers can ‘operate normally’, but COVID-19 is serious and nothing feels normal at the moment,” a statement on the River Island website reads.
“As a business driven by the love of fashion, we don’t say it often, but some things are just more important.”
It continues: “We’re looking forward to a time when the news changes less often than our outfit and will be back to our full glory as soon as we can.”
Many food chains have also temporarily shut down including McDonald’s, Nando’s and Greggs.
Hardware stores like Wickes, Homebase and B&Q are considered to be essential and are allowed to remain open, although not all of them are operating as normal.
Halfords will stay open to keep “key workers moving” while they strive to halt the impact of the pandemic.
