You may have seen the news this morning that Marks and Spencer announced its Q3 trading results.
Key findings:
- Overall sales were down 1.8%
- Food business reports like-for-like sales from stores open more than a year up 0.3%
- Sales from mobile devices were up over 90%
- Christmas Food to Order was up 5%
- Multi-channel sales +10.8%
- International sales +4.1%
John Oswald, Business Design Lead at leading service design consultancy Fjord comments:
“Although Marks & Spencer’s results published today show that overall like for like sales are down 1.8%, they also highlight that sales from mobile devices were up over 90%, contributing to an overall 10.8% increase in multi-channel sales. This is concrete proof of the ‘revolution in retail’ we are seeing as online and offline continue to merge. Marks & Spencer is genuinely seeking to build a holistic and immersive customer experience.
The trick will be to continue to build on this and not get blown off course by continued analyst pressure about general merchandise sales. It’s not online that’s making a real difference on its own, rather it’s the overall online/offline blended experience that’s making a big difference.
Companies need to think carefully about developing an overall service experience, no matter what the channel, that compliments their brand promise and delivers value to real people. The future for retailers is multi-faceted and experience-led.”