Marks & Spencer is allowing customers to pay for small purchases through its app in some of its London stores after trialling the technology over the summer.
Called “Mobile, Pay, Go”, the service will now be available in six shops throughout London, with M&S claiming the service could allow customers to make purchases such as lunch in under 40 seconds.
Using the M&S app, customers with iPhones can scan products as they go and then pay up to the value of £30 using Apple Pay or a saved card on their M&S.com account.
The service will now be rolled out to West Hampstead, Bankside, Canary Wharf and Stratford Westfield. It is already active in M&S’s stores in Edgware Road and Waterside Simply Food at Paddington.
In the latter, M&S claims over 1500 people have used the app, with a third of active users making five or more transactions per week and 20 percent of sales in the store taking place through the app.
M&S said it would roll the technology out in further stores early next year.
Sacha Berendji, operations and property director for retail at Marks & Spencer said: “Digitally enabled stores that offer a seamless customer experience are a crucial part of our transformation and our ambition to be a Digital First retailer.
“Our customers – especially those who come to us for lunch – are so busy, any tech that can speed up the shopping experience is a massive benefit to them.
“Crucially, it also means our brilliant colleagues are freed up to offer great service in other parts of the store, helping to improve the overall experience in the lunchtime rush.”
Jim Cruickshank, global head of digital product and UX at Marks & Spencer said: “Mobile, Pay, Go is one of many new initiatives we’re developing as part of our digital transformation, with agile and lean practices at the core of our approach.
“We’ve worked hard to deliver the fastest and most friction-free customer experience possible.”
M&S announced its “Technology Transformation Programme” in early 2018 as part of an overall five-year transformation plan. The strategy aims to make it “a digital-first business and deliver an improvement in customer service.”
Image credit: M&S
