After enjoying a sales boost, retailer is in a race to restore services - and its reputation

Marks & Spencer was enjoying a strong start to 2025 thanks to a fashion revival and the warm spring weather.

- Sarah Butler

That has now been seriously undermined as the retailer scrambles to deal with disruption caused by a massive cyber-attack it first revealed a week ago.

At a time when M&S - alongside most major retailers - are pushing more automation on its customers and workers, industry insiders say the retailer's staff have been forced to return to pens, paper and clipboards to check stock in stores as internal systems have been put on hold.

Every second counts now, for M&S's bottom line and for its reputation. Shoppers report problems with the use of gift cards in stores while thousands of orders made on or after 23 April have been cancelled. On Monday, it emerged the difficulties were now affecting Ocado, as M&S's deliveries of a small number of packaged foods to the online specialist it co-owns were hit.