M&S Nears Full Online Recovery by August After £300M Cyberattack Impact

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is on track to fully restore its online shopping service within the next four weeks following a major cyber-attack in April that disrupted operations and led to significant financial losses estimated at £300 million. CEO Stuart Machin stated that while half of the online store is currently operational, key services such as Click & Collect remain offline and the Castle Donington distribution centre is the next focus for recovery. The attack, linked to the hacking group Scattered Spider, affected over 500,000 customers with cancelled or delayed orders and involved the theft of some personal data, though no payment or password information was compromised. Despite the setback, M&S is using this opportunity to accelerate its digital transformation and IT security enhancements, while also planning a £300 million investment to expand and renew stores nationwide. Chairman Archie Norman acknowledged the cyber-attack as a major systems failure and indicated that leadership bonuses would be adjusted to reflect the impact on shareholders. Early signs suggest M&S is making steady progress toward recovery, with hopes to have the majority of disruptions behind them by August, although some operational uncertainties remain.