Marks & Spencer begins web transformation

M&S is looking to further capitalise on web shopping

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has gone live with the first phase of a major web site refresh project.

According to the retailer, the initial stage of the project involved changes in the navigational structure of its web site, with enhanced features such as product categories broken down to facilitate browsing.

“We are always looking to improve our web site, but the changes are all leading up to a bigger refresh forecast to go live in the Autumn,” said a spokeswoman at M&S.

The project is being carried out by the retailer’s internal and external e-commerce teams alongside design agencies. Amazon is also a partner in the development project, following its experience with M&S in a previous web overhaul.

A survey is also in place, so customers can provide feedback on their experience online.

When announcing a profit slump last month, the retailer said it had introduced a project, dubbed "Doing the Right Thing", which has online improvement as one of its objectives.

It is expected that the web site revamp will bring new services such as international delivery, wine club and gift card redemption, with better product availability and order fulfilment capability to mitigate the potential risk of client dissatisfaction when buying online.