#online-retail

#online-retail

Sunny weather and an interest rate cut helped August round off a solid summer of sales. Computing performed well as parents readied children for the new academic year, and gaming continued to show strong sales. Furniture also did better for the second month in a row, following several months of falling sales. New school clothing and footwear did not sell as well as expected, as some families opted for second-hand purchases.

John Lyttle confirmed that M&S's full online delivery service, including Click & Collect, is now available again, allowing orders from any UK store.

M&S expects its online operations to be fully restored within the next four weeks, continuing its recovery from a major cyber attack in April.

"Not only does this mean that in-store sales have barely recovered from last year's poor performance, but it also means that actual sales volumes shrank."