Online Orders Restart for Fashion, Home, and Beauty Products
- M&S shares rise after resuming online orders following a £300m cyberattack
- Online sales halted for over six weeks due to cyberattack
- Home delivery of fashion, home, and beauty products resume in England, Scotland, and Wales
- Click and collect, next-day delivery, and international shipping services to restart soon
- Estimated loss of £300m in group operating profit, but some costs may be mitigated
- Human error allowed hackers access to M&S’s IT systems via a third party
- All stores remained open during the cyberattack
- Food business sees sales growth despite fashion and home operations disruption
Marks & Spencer (M&S) shares increased on Tuesday after the retailer reopened its website following a cyberattack that halted online sales for over six weeks. The company has resumed home delivery of fashion, home, and beauty products in England, Scotland, and Wales, with plans to add more products daily. Click and collect, next-day delivery, nominated-day delivery, and international shipping services are expected to restart in the coming weeks. M&S’s MD of clothing, home, and beauty, John Lyttle, said more products will be added ‘every day,’ while deliveries to Northern Ireland and Click and Collect services are set to resume ‘in the coming weeks.’ The April cyberattack, which saw criminals steal customers’ personal data, cost M&S an estimated £25m per week in online clothing and homewares sales. The overall disruption could reach £300m in group operating profit, but the retailer expects to mitigate about half of that through cost management, insurance, and other trading actions. The breach, caused by ‘human error’ after hackers accessed M&S’s IT systems via a third party, initially affected contactless payments and stock availability, although all 565 stores remained open and trading throughout. Despite the disruption to its fashion, home, and beauty operations, M&S has seen progress in its food business, where sales growth in the first month after the cyberattack was almost double the wider market rate. Hargreaves Lansdown head of money and markets Susannah Streeter said, ‘There’s a palpable sigh of relief among shareholders now that some online orders at Marks and Spencer have resumed. There will be high hopes that M&S can put this unfortunate chapter behind it and ensure its products are front and centre of shopper minds online.’
Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate and objective information about M&S reopening its website after a cyberattack and resuming online sales. It includes relevant details about the impact of the attack on the company’s finances and operations, as well as quotes from industry experts. However, it contains some minor repetitive information and slight sensationalism in the use of words like ‘palpable sigh of relief.’
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about M&S resuming online sales after a cyberattack and its impact on the company’s profit. It also mentions plans for adding more products and services in the coming weeks. However, it could be improved by including more details on how the company is addressing customer concerns regarding data security and potential long-term effects of the attack.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Yes
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses M&S’s financial impact from a cyberattack that forced a halt to online sales, causing an estimated loss of £25m per week in online clothing and homewares sales. The overall cost of the disruption could reach £300m in group operating profit, with plans to mitigate half of it through cost management and other trading actions. The cyberattack affected M&S’s fashion, home, and beauty operations but not its food business, which saw sales growth almost double the wider market rate.
Presence Of Extreme Event: Yes
Nature Of Extreme Event: Technological Disruption
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: Moderate
Extreme Rating Justification: The extreme event was a cyberattack that caused significant disruptions to M&S’s online sales and operations, resulting in an estimated loss of £25m per week in online clothing and homewares sales. The overall cost of the disruption could reach £300m, but the retailer expects to mitigate half of it through cost management and other actions.
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