M&S Customers in Limbo as Cyber Attack Chaos Continues

Customers of Marks and Spencer (M&S) have been telling the BBC of their frustration and disappointment as disruption caused by the cyber attack on the retailer continues into another trading week. The incident, which was disclosed last Monday, has caused delayed parcels, paused online orders, and suspended gift card payments, leading to several parts of its operations being taken offline.

The nature of the cyber attack and when it expects operations to return to normal have yet to be disclosed by M&S. Some customers have expressed their frustration with the retailer's communication over affected orders, describing it as "disappointing". Analysts warn that the incident may affect the retailer's reputation and customer trust.

A Personal Impact

Linda Sonntag, a resident of Norwich, shared her experience with the BBC after a flower delivery arranged for a friend never arrived. She had ordered flowers on behalf of her 91-year-old mother's friend to celebrate their 90th birthday and was left waiting for a refund and email with information about her order.

"In the meantime I've had to order flowers from somewhere else," she said. "I don't blame them, they've had a cyber attack. But I don't think their attitude towards their customers is very helpful." Ms Sonntag added that she was still waiting for a refund and email with information about her order.

Dawn Cunnington, of Exeter, also shared her experience after ordering flowers on behalf of her 91-year-old mother to celebrate her friend's 90th birthday. She had received a refund and an apology voucher after calling M&S to find out what happened to the flowers, but was "a bit cross" that she had been allowed to place the order in the first place.

Impact on Business

About a third of M&S's clothing and household goods' sales in the UK are through its online platforms, worth some £1.268bn in the latest published financial results. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that even though M&S's physical stores were still open, many of them "simply don't stock the popular ranges from online".

She added that clothes sales are likely to take a big hit as the cyber-attack occurred during a spell of warm weather when summer ranges would be "piling up in virtual baskets". Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said M&S's success was built on trust and that this is something customers may question after it suspended online orders.

"The longer it takes to draw a line under the cyber incident, the greater the risk to Marks & Spencer's reputation," he told the BBC. "Shoppers want to know that their personal and financial details are safe when buying goods online and Marks & Spencer failing to give the all-clear implies that something is very wrong at its end."

Experts Weigh In

Cyber security experts have been speculating about the nature of the cyber attack and how it has affected M&S. Sam Kirkman, a director at cyber-security firm NetSPI, said that while M&S taking steps like pausing services may make the incident seem "even more serious from the outside", they would allow staff to contain any potential threats and begin recovery safely.

"In situations like this, in-store services are typically prioritised for recovery, which can mean online operations take slightly longer to restore," he said. He added that M&S hiring external cyber security experts is a positive step towards resolving the incident.