Smyths Toys was not accepting gift cards in its shops in Ireland and the UK yesterday - for the second day in a row, writes Garreth Murphy.

The retailer posted a message on its website yesterday to say it was having issues accepting gift cards after a slew of customers complained on social media.

In its statement, the retailer said: "Unfortunately we are having difficulties accepting Smyths gift cards in our stores currently due to a technical issue. Gift cards can still be used on our website for home delivery and click and collect."

Smyths also apologised for the "inconvenience caused".

However, some customers were furious at the retailer for not highlighting the issue before they got to tills in stores.

Dozens of complaints were posted to Smyths' social media pages.

One person said the retailer's communication was "not ideal", particularly immediately after Christmas when many were seeking to use the gift cards.

They wrote on Facebook: 'We went in yesterday with our boys, vouchers were burning a hole in their pockets. Spent God knows how long picking what they wanted only to get to the tills to be told they couldn't accept vouchers due to technical issues."

"Having a sign heading into the store [to] let people know would have been ideal."

Another wrote: "Please can you enlighten me as to why my granddaughter couldn't use her Smyths Christmas voucher in store yesterday? No sign on the door, only at till after selecting items. Why?"

Another wrote: "You would have to feel sorry for the poor staff at Smyths working today. The amount of abuse they must be getting over something out of their control with the gift cards not working."

BusinessPlus.ie has contacted Smyths for further comment.