The time has come.

Penneys has officially reopened for shopping by appointment. Today, thousands of customers will get the chance to peruse the store at their designated time slot picking up much needed essentials, homeware pieces, and some new bits from their ss/21 collection. This morning saw considerable queues from 7am outside Penneys stores in Dublin city centre, Dundrum, Cork and elsewhere, as shoppers arrived 10 minutes before their pre-booked time slot to be guaranteed their entry to the retailer. This is the first time Penneys has opened since late December when all non-essential retail was forced to close under tight Level 5 restrictions. The store will open as normal for those without a designated appointment on Monday, May 17. https://twitter.com/sorcha_circa/status/1391661504143966209?s=20 "Shopping by appointment is now live and can be accessed via the link below," Penneys said in a statement last week. "We are anticipating high volumes of traffic to the site and cannot guarantee that a space in the queue will mean a guaranteed time slot. "To ensure the safety and well-being of our colleagues and other customers, we kindly ask that for each time slot allocated, only one customer attends." Following the launch of the portal, there was immense interest in booking a slot with many shoppers waiting up to three hours in a virtual queue to secure their place. According to reports, upwards of 250,000 people across the country accessed the portal on Friday and throughout the weekend to ensure a spot in the retailer this week. If you fancy a sneak peak at the new stock before next week, just head over to pretty much anybody's Instagram Story this morning. There's some nice bits, in fairness. Today also sees the reopening of hairdressers, barbers, and salons as well as the return of inter-county travel. Penneys and all other non-essential retailers will be reopening fully next week from May 17.