Yahoo Finance Marks & Spencer rolls out self-service tills for clothing in dozens of stores
Shoppers at Marks & Spencer will be asked to use self-service checkouts when buying clothing and homeware as the retailer rolls out the new tills in dozens of its stores.
M&S said it was adding the checkouts, which are similar to those in supermarkets for groceries but can be used to pay for clothes, in ten more stores before the end of March as it speeds up the roll out.
A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said shoppers will still have the option to pay for clothing and homeware at its manned till points.
They added: “We continue to offer customers new ways to pay to make shopping with M&S quicker, easier and more convenient.”
M&S said it began trialling the checkouts, which are currently in 20 shops, in 2021 and plans to install them in a further 10 by the end of March before a wider rollout later this year.
However, the retailer has faced criticism in recent weeks that its self-service checkouts were not accessible for all disabled customers.
Earlier this month, it faced a backlash on Twitter after one wheelchair user said the checkouts were too high for her to use, while others were too close together.
M&S said at the time that its checkouts were tested and certified to meet accessibility standards, but that it took customer feedback seriously.
A spokesman told Charged Retail: “We are exploring adjustments we can make to our new tills, including altering the height of the basket and reviewing the positioning of the till so people with disabilities can shop independently if they wish to.
“At M&S we are committed to ensuring all our stores are accessible and we are in the early stages of research and design to launch a designated accessible till in every store.”
It comes weeks after M&S said it was investing almost half a billion pounds in its stores, including opening 20 new shops this year.
Eight of these sites have been slated as so-called destination branches, which will have larger aisles, more spacious clothing and beauty sections, as well as free parking.
M&S plans to shrink its estate to 180 sites from the current 247 stores, but to have those locations as "higher quality, higher productivity".
M&S has enjoyed a rebound in sales in recent months following years of decline.
In February, trade publication Retail Week predicted that M&S could overtake John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which also owns Waitrose, to become the nation’s seventh largest retailer by sales before the end of this year.
Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, hailed an “outstanding performance” within the company’s clothing and home business during the Christmas period after posting an 8.8pc rise in sales for the final three months of 2022.
