Six major changes coming to every M&S store next week

Everything customers can expect when non-essential departments of the stores reopen

(iStock/tupungato)

Marks and Spencer has shared guidelines with customers ahead of reopening its clothing and home departments across its stores on 12 April.

Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday 6 April, non-essential shops are permitted to reopen from next week.

Ahead of customers returning to stores, Marks & Spencer has explained six changes they can expect.

Bra fit: M&S has 250 stores which sell lingerie and now customers can choose from a contact-free bra fit or a virtual at home appointment with an M&S expert via video.

Click & Collect: M&S is offering 8pm cut off for free next day pick up at over 800 stores via Click & Collect. It’s also trialling ways to make collecting orders easier, including express collection and digital check-in at around twenty stores.

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M&S Cafés: Nearly 100 M&S Cafes will be open for takeaway and customers will be able to eat on-site at 14 of them which have dedicated outdoor seating areas

Video-powered retail: Available across furniture and beauty, M&S is offering customers video appointments with specialists in-store at M&S White City, which is one of its five digital trials stores. The idea is to help customers decide what they want before they visit stores, or to allow them to shop from home completely.

More ways to pay at M&S: The retailer has seen a 200 per cent increase in downloads of its app and more than one million transactions via its Mobile Pay Go digital shopping option, which has been rolled out from a small trial to all food halls in 2020.

M&S is rebranding Mobile Pay Go and bringing together all of its digital store shopping options together under the Scan and Shop banner, so that customers can skip queues and shop using their mobile or an in-store handheld device.

It’s also expanding its on-the-spot payment service Pay With Me, which was introduced in its busiest food halls in the run-up to Christmas. It will now be available at 50 of its top lingerie stores, so customers can purchase pay after their bra fit appointment without having to go to a till.

New ‘Bring On’ campaign: The retailer has launched a new campaign to celebrate a return to social events and the start of summer. The campaign will showcase relevant products that customers are searching for online, including clothing for outdoor gatherings and M&S Food summer specials such as  3 for £10 on Grill and its Cherry Blossom Gin Liqueur.

Sacha Berendji, ops and property director for M&S Retail said that the last year had accelerated many of the trends and shopping patterns that the retailer had seen before the pandemic.

He added: “We have responded as part of our Never the Same Again transformation programme to build a shopping experience that’s fit for the future and one that enables customers to shop the way they want.

“As we start to reopen our Clothing & Home space, we’ve pulled out all the stops to deliver the stylish, relevant products our customers are searching for, and help deliver a more flexible, easier and rewarding shopping experience for our customers so that they have everything they need to be ready to bring on the summer.”