M&S turns to IT as shoppers tighten the purse strings

Retail giant Marks & Spencer has confirmed it is on course to go live in April 2012 with a refresh of its core businesses systems from SAP.

The new system will include an updated stock ledger, which will allow managers to track the profitability of its entire range of products.

The details emerged as M&S reported its half-year results, which emphasised the retailer's reliance on IT initiatives to help it negotiate choppy trading conditions.

M&S confirmed it had completed the deployment of a new real-time stock management system, along with the rollout of a new point-of-sale system, aimed at reducing transaction processing times.

The retailer said it was in the process of implementing a new forecasting and ordering system in its food business, aimed at reducing levels of waste.

M&S also continues to expand its online business, with internet sales up nearly 12 per cent on the previous year.

Nevertheless, growth has slowed in its M&S Direct business, which had reported a stunning 49 per cent rise in sales in the same period a year ago.

M&S launched its first international web site for the French market in October, the first time it has served international customers with a site using the local language and currency.

Elsewhere, M&S has launched trials of in-shop deployments of tablets and in-store touch-screen ordering points, which have enabled it to offer customers access to fashion ranges that can normally only be found in its largest stores.

“Against a challenging consumer backdrop, we took decisive action to manage the business through the short term, while continuing our focus on investing in creating a stronger platform for future growth,” said Marc Bolland, M&S chief executive.

Overall, sales at the group rose 2.4 per cent year on year to £4.7bn, but operating profits dipped to £366m for the six months to October, down from £409m in the pervious year.

The tough times facing the retail sector were underlined by the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.

Their retail index figures showed that Britons' spending on furniture, clothes and other non-food items dropped by 1.8 per cent in September.