MARKS & SPENCER has emailed customers in Ireland to apologise after the company was hit by a “cyber incident” over the bank holiday weekend. 

In the email, the retailer said customers could face some “limited delays” to their Click and Collect orders, but that they were “working hard to resolve” the issue. 

It comes after some people took to social media to say they were unable to pay using contactless methods or collect online orders over the weekend.

It is understood that contactless payments are working again in stores, but that Click and Collect orders and returns are still facing disruption. 

M&S said it had to temporarily make some “minor changes” to their store operations to protect customers and the business, and apologised to those who may have experienced any inconvenience. 

“I’m writing to let you know that over the last few days M&S has been managing a cyber incident,” CEO Stuart Machin said in the email to customers. 

Manchin said that all stores remain open and the retailer’s website and app are operating as normal. 

“There is no need for you to take any action at this time and if the situation changes, we will let you know,” he said. 

M&S said they have been “working hard” with cyber security experts to investigate and manage the incident. The company has also reported the incident to British data protection supervisory authorities and the UK National Cyber Security Centre.

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at internet security firm Eset, said: “This highlights the significant impact cyber attacks can have in the public domain.

“Many ransomware attacks are dealt with behind the scenes which can make people think the problems are eroding but when customers are directly affected, the knock-on effects are far more widely noted.

“Luckily, it seems no customer data has been taken in the attack but this situation widens the reality that card-only payments may not yet be the answer in a time when cyber attacks are just as prevalent as they’ve ever been.”

With reporting from Press Association