Now M&S will let you customise gifts

IT IS not just a personalised gift, but a Marks & Spencer personalised gift...

The retail giant will this week launch a range of fashion and home products that can be inscribed with individual messages and names.

The online service will allow customers to personalise 55 products from pyjamas and Christmas stockings to Harry Potter hoodies and Percy Pig cushions.

The retailer said its research found more than half of customers will be searching online for personalised products as gifts this Christmas.

There has been a growing trend towards more tailored gifts, with many high street stores and internet companies now offering to personalise cards, print family photographs on mugs or put names on items such as Toblerone chocolate bars and Cadbury advent calendars.

M&S said a recent survey of more than 1,000 adults found 43 per cent will browse online for personalised products this Christmas, rising to 56 per cent for M&S customers.

Stephen Langford, director of the company’s online operation, said: ‘We know this year lots of customers will stick with the convenience of online shopping for their festive gifting, but also that they’re looking for presents that really show they care – something special and different.’

The market for personalised products is estimated to be worth around £1billion in the UK. Analysts say the market is attractive to shop bosses because customers are willing to pay more for the items and less likely to return them later.

M&S is working with Wolverhampton-based supplier Slick Stitch to help tailor the orders.

The move is part of the company’s wider plans to cash in on seasonal occasions like Mother’s Day and Easter. M&S is also promoting what it describes as ‘affordable luxury’ items this year such as chocolates that come in a light-up box and a range of ‘snow globe’ liqueurs.