Consolidation of Ocado Retail
Marks and Spencer consolidated Ocado Retail into their numbers, leading to a reported 22% increase in group sales.
Food Business Resilience
Despite supply chain disruptions, food sales grew by 7.8% in the half, with M&S becoming the fastest-growing store-based retailer in volume over the last 4-week period.
New Store Openings and Investments
15 new or renewed stores opened in the first half, with more than 20 planned for the second half, including two flagship full-line stores.
Ocado Retail Growth
Ocado Retail sales grew by 14.9% over the half, driven by M&S products, which grew faster at 20%.
Market Share and Customer Engagement
M&S achieved #1 for style for the first time and was #1 in fashion market share in the last 12 weeks. Engagement metrics like traffic were significantly up, with September traffic increasing by 21%.