Online trends driving change at retailer

Announcing the latest stage of its “transformation” plans earlier this year, M&S Bank said the aim was to “create a digitally enabled and uniquely rewarding shopping and payment experience for M&S customers”.

It added: “This will include a new reward credit card offering and a digital payment solution for M&S’s growing Sparks (loyalty card) customer base.

“The new offering will support M&S’s Never the Same Again transformation programme by enabling easy and rewarding ways to pay when shopping at M&S, for both M&S Bank and M&S Sparks customers, who are among the retailer’s most loyal.”

The bank said it would continue to offer general insurance, savings and loan products, alongside a “more integrated endto-end shopping and payment experience”.

It added: “With the acceleration of online shopping, particularly since the start of the pandemic, customers are increasingly choosing to bank online, including mobile, a trend which has been seen since the start of 2019.

“In response to this, M&S Bank will move to online and telephony servicing, enabling customers to access their accounts at a time that suits them.

“As a result of these service changes, and M&S Bank’s focus on evolving its credit card and payment offering for customers, its current account offer and associated 29 instore branches are set to close from the summer.

“The in-store travel money bureaux, which are located in over 100 stores, are unaffected.”

It added: “We are striving to bring our customers the very best financial products that meet their needs today and in the future.”