Consumer confidence in Marks & Spencer dented by cyber attack

The proportion of consumers who say they would recommend Marks & Spencer to others has fallen from 87% to 73% since the start of the incident almost a fortnight ago, a poll of 500 respondents by research specialist Maru revealed.

The number of consumers who say they would ‘definitely’ give M&S the benefit of the doubt in the event of ongoing product or service issues has declined from 39% to 32%.

However, those who say they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ continue to trust M&S in such situations has only edged down from 84% to 82%, which Maru said indicates “the underlying trust among a wider base of customers remains recoverable”.

However according to daily YouGov data cited by M&S ”there has been no real change to positive nor negative impression”. 66% maintained a positive impression and 3% had a negative impression

The attack on M&S led to disruption of contactless payments and click-and-collect. The retailer is still not selling online after suspending trading through its website and app a week ago and there has been disruption of some food supply to some stores. 

In a message to customers this morning, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said: “We are really sorry that we have not been able to offer you the service you expect from M&S over the past week.

“We are working day and night to manage the current cyber incident and get things back to normal for you as quickly as possible.

“Thank you from me and everyone at M&S for all the support you have shown us. We do not take it for granted and we are incredibly grateful.

“Our teams are doing the very best they can and are ready to welcome you into our stores—whether you are shopping for food or for fashion, home and beauty this bank holiday weekend.

“Thank you for your support and for shopping with us. We will continue to keep you updated.”

M&S is not the only retailer to have been targeted by cyber criminals in recent days. The Co-op and Harrods have both suffered attacks.