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Marks and Spencer is beginning to take online orders again after it halted purchases through its website in April following a hugely damaging cyber attack.<\/p>\n
The High Street chain said shoppers were now able to buy a selection of fashion items, such as clothing and footwear, for home delivery in England, Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n
It said beauty and homeware products would be available in the coming days, with click and collect and delivery services to Northern Ireland resuming “in the coming weeks”.<\/p>\n
The return of online shopping marks a key milestone for the retailer, which has been struggling to get services back to normal since the cyber attack, which left some shelves empty and deliveries in limbo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
M&S was hit by a cyber attack over the Easter weekend, which initially affected its click and collect and contactless payments.<\/p>\n
A few days later, the company suspended online orders, and recently warned services would continue to be disrupted until July.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, John Lyttle, managing director of fashion, home and beauty at M&S, said a selection of the retailer’s “best selling” fashion ranges would now be available online.<\/p>\n
But M&S customer Andrew Ruddle contacted BBC Your Voice to say there was still “a very, very thin selection in menswear” and a lot of items he would like seemed to be out of stock.<\/p>\n
“I checked in this morning and basically whatever size I want, whatever colour I want, is unavailable,” he said.<\/p>\n
“From my experience, and I’ve only dabbled at the fringes, M&S has got a long way to go before they are anywhere near back to a normal service.”<\/p>\n
M&S has estimated that the cyber attack will hit this year’s profits by around \u00a3300m – the equivalent to a third of its profit – and a sum that would only partly be covered by any insurance payout.<\/p>\n
Some personal customer data was stolen by hackers during the attack, which the retailer has said could have included telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.<\/p>\n
The company has told customers that the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n