Marks and Spencer is gearing up for “the most digital Christmas yet” by hiring online staff and expanding its contactless click and collect service.
This week, the retailer announced that it is increasing capacity at its online distribution centre at Castle Donington, Leicestershire, to reflect the accelerated shift to online shopping seen during lockdown.
In August, M&S reported a 39.2 per cent increase in its online sales and, the retailer says it has seen over 1.5 million new downloads of its app since the relaunch of its Sparks loyalty scheme in July.
In preparation, M&S says it will take on 500 fixed term colleagues for the Christmas period. This means M&S’s distribution centre will be run by a team of c.4,000 over Christmas, an uplift of over 30 per cent on the c.3,000 colleagues who supported the site in 2019.
Along with an increase in capacity, the Castle Donington site will utilise automated technology to help deal with demand. Ahead of Christmas 2020, M&S has invested in two “Autobagger” machines at the site. The machines can each pack 2,000 items every hour, and are powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, M&S says.
And, M&S says, due to the pandemic, the Castle Donington site has been adapted with robust hygiene and social distancing measures in place, from door closing devices to increased cleaning schedules to perspex screens between workstations.
Paul Burns, M&S’s Clothing & Home Head of Logistics said: “We’re set up to ensure our colleagues can safely help our customers shop online with confidence this Christmas – from great new team members to investing in our tech.”
M&S is also set to expand its Click and Collect service. Teams at 140 stores are already picking online orders, with an additional 100 stores set up and ready to pack orders in response to local demand.
The click & collect service is offered across 600 stores and selected convenience locations. Following customer shopping changes during the pandemic, the retailer said over 40 per cent of its parcels are now collected at an M&S food-only store versus just 30 per cent last year.
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