Smyths Toys has issued an update to shoppers following last night's six-week lockdown announcement.
As the country prepares to move to Level Five restrictions on Wednesday night, the retailers said home delivery and click and collect services will be available throughout the period.
Smyths added: "There may be short periods where these services are not available while we process large order volumes."
Meanwhile, an image supposedly showing a lack of stock on some shelves at Smyths in Blanchardstown in Dublin has made the rounds on social media.
The person who posted the image, which shows a few kids' bikes on two mostly empty shelves, said: "Not a bike to be got and have no date for new stock.
"Anything thinking of heading out here, the shelves are empty."
However, a spokesperson for the company told the Irish Sun today: "We have good levels of stock with more arriving each week.
"Click and collect, online and home delivery will be available."
Panicked shoppers joined queues at toy stores and supermarkets yesterday as retail chiefs warned the new lockdown would “kill Christmas”.
There were long lines at Smyths shops around the country on Monday as families tried to snap up presents to beat the looming lockdown.
Off-licences, barbers and beauty salons also saw a brisk trade throughout the day when news leaked of an escalation to Level 5 restrictions.
A six-week lockdown means all but essential shops will be shuttered until early December including on Black Friday, one of the busiest days of the year which raked in €250million in 2019.
Business leaders are fearful that NPHET will not allow a stampede back in the doors in the final three-week run up to Christmas
It took over two months for the first lockdown to be lifted.
The forced closure of non-essential retailers under the Government’s new restrictions “would do permanent and serious damage” and would cost 60,000 more jobs it was claimed.
Retail Excellence which represents thousands of shops and staff said 30,000 people have already lost their jobs for good.
A spokesman added: “ We cannot shut down the industry at this time of the year.
“Closing at this time will seriously curtail the Christmas shopping season.
“There will be a huge surge in online shopping this year.
“We know that 70% of the spend online goes to overseas-based retailers and we urge shoppers that are going online to go to Irish websites and shop local.
“All retail should be classed as ‘essential’. We cannot simply ‘kill off Christmas’.
“Retailers in Northern Ireland and across Europe remain open despite higher infection rates.”
Retail Excellence called on the Government to provide a clear roadmap and strategy to reopen.
They want the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme reinstated with immediate effect and the Covid Recovery Support Scheme to be up and running too.
They have also called on the Government for support with legacy debts such as commercial rents.
Meanwhile, figures show householders have been busy stockpiling for a long winter of lockdown.
People splurged an extra €100million on groceries in the past four weeks as restrictions loomed.
And nine in 10 are sticking chocolate treats in the basket, new figures show.
Grocery sales growth here slowed in the four weeks up to October 4 compared with the buying spree that began in March.
But, there was still a noticeable surge in activity compared to last year which indicates that people are preparing to spend longer at home.
Emer Healy, a retail analyst at Kantar, said: “While growth over the past three months has slowed compared with the dizzying heights of lockdown, we still spent over €100million more on groceries in the past four weeks compared to this time last year.
“We expect to see a further boost in spend as restrictions tighten.” Kantar said the spending patterns during the Level Three restrictions in Dublin in recent weeks should provide pointers for how shoppers in other parts of the country will behave as we face into six weeks of Level 5 measures.
The capital saw the highest regional growth during the latest quarterly period with sales rocketing up by 19.4% between early July and October.
Sales of alcohol in supermarkets and stores soared in Dublin by a massive 53% during the past month as Level 3 restrictions on pubs and restaurants led to a jump in retail booze spending. Shoppers also spent an additional 25% on international ingredients and recreated their favourite restaurant and holiday dishes at home.
Elsewhere, cleaning products were in high demand and antiseptics and disinfectant sales jumped by 67%.
The latest figures also showed that Dunnes Stores joined SuperValu as the most in-demand retailer with both receiving a significant 21.9% market share.
Higher-spending shopping trips boosted overall spending at Dunnes’ by an eye-watering €63 million, while consumers also purchased 13.3% more items in the retailer than rival SuperValu.
Tesco secured a market share of 20.9% with its boosted sales expanded due to shoppers adding extra basket items as volumes increased by 21%.
