Ongoing Challenges for Shoppers Following Cyberattack
Shoppers have expressed frustration after struggling to find essential items such as sports bras, jeans, and even Colin the Caterpillar-themed products. The issue stems from a cyberattack that disrupted the operations of a major retailer, leaving thousands of products unavailable more than two months later. Items like Clinique foundation, Wrangler jeans, certain Reebok sports bras, and even a Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake remain out of stock.
Despite recent efforts to restore some third-party brands like Adidas, Columbia, and Lilybod, many product ranges are still either missing or available in limited quantities. While delivery times for customers in England, Scotland, and Wales have been reduced from ten days to five, options like click-and-collect and next-day delivery are still not available.
In Northern Ireland, home delivery is completely unavailable, according to reports. This slow recovery has led customers to question the reasons behind the prolonged disruption. The website was offline for 51 days, and although it has now returned online, the service is far from normal.
According to research published last year, the average recovery time following a cyberattack was typically around 22 days. This incident marks one of the longest online outages in recent retail history. M&S has stated that its full product range and standard delivery times will return “over the coming weeks,” but they have not provided details on how many items are currently back online.
A source mentioned that more than half of the products are now available. An expert suggested that an “abundance of caution” may be responsible for the delay, with the company possibly rebuilding its systems from scratch rather than attempting to salvage existing software.
Professor Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey explained, “They probably did this because the criminals are very good at building malware that can persist and hide in little nooks and crannies on your network.” He believes the tech team is taking extra precautions, as the brand’s reputation is at stake.
When approached, a representative shared, “The last thing we want to do is let customers down, promising to fulfill an order in a specific timeframe and then failing to do so.” The retailer continues to claim that its recovery is ahead of schedule, though Professor Woodward expressed surprise at the length of the delay.
Since relaunching the site, the main focus seems to be restocking summer clothing, likely to clear a backlog of unsold seasonal items before the weather changes. Some customers have noticed the delays, with one commenting on X: “I went in search of a necklace from M&S. They have some nice natural stone ones, it’s online but not available to order, so frustrating, but walked in and they had it.”
This ongoing situation highlights the challenges faced by both the retailer and its customers as they navigate the aftermath of a significant cyberattack.
