The coronavirus shutdown is laying waste to the high street, with Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group announcing it was shutting all its stores, as Primark told suppliers it was cancelling orders and Debenhams sought extra time to settle its bills.

In a dramatic day of developments Marks & Spencer axed its dividend to preserve cash because its clothing arm faced being “severely impacted” over the coming months as Britons were forced to stop shopping. The retailer also said some stores could have to close temporarily.

Arcadia, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, said it had taken the “difficult decision” to close its more than 500 stores until further notice. The retailer said all staff would receive their normal pay for March “after which we will review this situation and will be keeping our store teams updated”.

In a sign of the scale of the slump that retailers now expect, Primark has written to suppliers urging them to “seriously consider putting a halt on all current and future production and the purchasing of any materials in relation to any Primark orders”.

“We have been left with no option but to place a hold on any new orders being placed,” the fashion retailer said. Orders already in train were also being reviewed, it said, adding: “It is likely that in most circumstances we will have little option but to terminate those orders pursuant to our contractual rights.”

Earlier this week Primark’s parent company, Associated British Foods, said about a fifth of its selling space was already closed. Paul Marchant, the chief executive of Primark, said it could not have foreseen that over the course of a week, stores in every country in which it operated, with the exception of the UK, would have to close.

Marchant said: “We have large quantities of existing stock in our stores, our depots and in transit that is paid for and if we do not take this action now we will be taking delivery of stock that we simply can’t sell. This is unprecedented action for unprecedented and frankly unimaginable times.”

“We recognise and are deeply saddened that this will clearly have an effect throughout our entire supply chain,” Marchant added.

The gloomy update came as it emerged that the Debenhams chief executive, Stefaan Vansteenkiste, had written to the department store chain’s suppliers to inform them they would be getting their money a month later than expected.

“Unfortunately, we have to ask you for extra support,” wrote Vansteenkiste. “We will be extending all supplier payment terms by 30 days – except in those cases where we are already on extended terms. This decision is crucial to make sure we can ultimately pay the outstanding payable balances we have with you.”

Debenhams had already asked landlords for a five-month rent holiday as it faces “unprecedented pressures” because of the pandemic. The department store, which has closed 22 branches in recent months and is set to close 28 more next year, was struggling even before the virus hit.

M&S said it had served customers “without cease through two world wars” but the Covid-19 outbreak meant it anticipated the performance of its clothing and homewares departments – where sales were already falling – would worsen. It was seeing substantial declines in these departments and has redeployed many staff to support its food retail business amid a run on supermarkets by panicked shoppers.

With demand for its spring and summer ranges expected to be weak, M&S has ditched plans to order £100m worth of goods so as to avoid being left with a glut of stock. As Next’s chief executive, Simon Wolfson, put it this week: “People do not buy a new outfit to stay at home.”

Unlike high street rivals such as Next and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group – which on Friday issued a profit warning and announced plans to close five Jack Wills stores – M&S is expected to be among a handful of “essential” retailers alongside supermarkets and pharmacists permitted to keep shops open throughout the crisis.

M&S said its food halls were busier than usual but its bias towards selling chilled and fresh food (which have a short shelf life) meant it had not experienced the same huge sales uplifts experienced by the major grocers.

M&S said scrapping the dividend would save £130m as it warned profits for the year to the end of March could fall short of the £440m pencilled in by analysts. The government’s decision to suspend business rates would also save it about £180m.

In further evidence of the tough outlook faced by retailers, Hotel Chocolat said the virus signalled the closure of some or all of its 125 UK stores.

Greg Lawless, an analyst at Shore Capital, said: “The UK retail sector is facing a storm of reduced footfall to the high street, particularly for the general retail sector. Nobody knows how long normal lives will have restrictions in place – so the impact on financial forecasts is unknown.”

“Cash preservation is the new priority,” added Lawless. “Those companies that adapt quickly and do the right thing will survive but we are in uncharted territory.”

In other developments:

• Harrods became the latest department store in London’s West End to announce it was “closing for a while”.

• Travis Perkins, the builders’ merchant, cancelled its dividend and delayed the demerger of its Wickes chain to focus on crisis management ahead of an expected sharp downturn in sales if it was forced to shut its stores.

• Online estate agent Rightmove reported a dramatic fall in home buying and flat hunting.

• The estate agents Foxtons warned of a “material” disruption to its business and said it has fully drawn down on a £5m overdraft to boost its cash reserves.

• InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of Holiday Inn and InterContinental chains, said demand for hotels was the lowest it had ever seen.

• Heathrow said it would stay open to safeguard “vital supply lines” but had to downsize. It has cancelled executive pay.