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Dunnes Stores has removed all references to a clothing and household goods “hold and pick up” service from its website after it was asked to explain how the new service was different from “click and drop” operations. collect “prohibited for non-essential retail sale in Level 5 lockdown regulations.
Featured prominently on their site through Monday night as a “new local store service,” the retailer’s pick-up and reserve option allowed shoppers to “reserve what they need in fashion and at home at their local Dunnes stores. and pick it up at the store the same day. ” ”.
Dunnes Stores called it a “local store service” and promised to do “everything possible to fulfill your reservation request from our store. We will contact you before picking up your orders and we will notify you of what we have been able to fulfill. “
When contacted by The Irish Times and asked to explain how book-and-collect was different from click-and-collect, the retailer declined to comment.
The Business Department confirmed to this newspaper on Monday night that clicking and collecting and reserving and collecting non-essential retail items were against regulations designed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
A spokeswoman said the guidelines were “clear that click-and-pick or book-and-pick services are only available for essential retail items,” adding that the department has been “interacting with retailers to ensure the guidelines are being followed. of Covid-19 “.
Disrupted
Within 12 hours of receiving the Government’s statement, Dunnes Stores no longer offered the service. It has not responded to inquiries about why it was suspended.
During the second lockdown in October and November, non-essential retailers were allowed to sell online, as well as offer a so-called click-and-collect service.
It allowed many smaller retailers that did not have the capacity for full online delivery services to continue operating until November.
However, with the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in late December, nonessential retail was forced to close for the third time in less than a year and the government decided not to allow the click-and-collect model. to reduce movement and travel as much as possible.
Removing that option from the table was considered to prevent people from driving to shopping and city centers to pick up ordered products and reduce movement of people in the community.
Last October, large retailers across the state, including Dunnes stores, were forced to modify their stores and block products that were deemed non-essential in the wake of widespread Garda interventions aimed at ensuring they were compliant with the rules of blocking.
Some clothing and shoe stores attempted to circumvent the rules by storing and selling PPE while selling clothing along with food and other essential supplies.
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