Barbara decides to order the cake ingredients and all baking and decorating accessories, so she is ready for customer orders. She sends an email to Cake Supplies and Decorating Centre and advises that she needs flour, cake baking accessories, and decorating supplies, for her new business. Mary, the store manager, emails back and says: I can definitely provide you with all your cake business needs. However, because of current conditions, we are short on supplies, and would have to make a special order to get the supplies for you. Barbara emails back as follows: please go ahead and do the order immediately, as our webpage will be live next week. I will email you with the exact amounts I need, once the webpage is up. A few days later Mary emails Barbara to advise that she has placed the special order with the warehouse and will be emailing the final order confirmation to them the following morning. Barbara ignores the email as, whilst surfing the net on her iPhone, she found a cheaper supplier and placed an order with them. On the day the webpage goes up, Barbara remembers the email communications with Mary, and rings her to cancel the order. Mary is disheartened as she has already ordered and received the items, which may perish as she hardly receives any orders, given the current conditions.

Is promissory estoppel relevant to Barbaras dispute with Mary from Cake Supplies and Decorating Centre? (5 marks)