M&S (Marks & Spencer) has suspended its popular meal deal offerings due to an ongoing cyber attack that has severely disrupted its operations. The attack has led to significant stock availability issues, hampering M&S’s ability to fulfil its meal deal promises in stores located in high-footfall areas such as train stations, airports, and petrol stations.

Affected shoppers have been informed of the interruptions at various locations. For instance, a sign at Victoria Station read: “Due to availability issues we are temporarily unable to fulfil this meal deal. Please bear with us while we work through this.” This disruption impacts not only the traditional meal deals, which typically include a sandwich or salad, crisps, and a drink, but also the dine-in meal deals priced between £6 to £15 that offer combinations of starters, mains, and desserts.

In addition to pausing meal deals in stores, M&S has ceased taking online orders for over a week, with little indication of when normal service will resume. Analysts at Kantar have noted a rise in grocery spending at M&S, recording a 14.4% increase in the 12 weeks leading up to April 20, just prior to the cyber attack.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, spoke to the BBC, urging the public to continue supporting the affected retailers. “All of the businesses that have been affected are all still open,” she said. “You can still go into the shop and buy whatever you need and I think it is really important for us as people, as customers, to support businesses when you know they are working hard to mitigate something that is completely out of their control.”

Dickinson also articulated concerns shared by many retailers regarding the nature of the attacks, highlighting the uncertainty about whether the incidents are linked to the same group of attackers. “They are obviously high-profile businesses; we all interact with retailers each and every day,” she noted. This evolving threat landscape has prompted calls for heightened vigilance among retailers, as cyber attacks become increasingly sophisticated and adept at exploiting system vulnerabilities.

As M&S navigates this challenge, customers will be seeking alternatives in the interim, while the company plans to address the operational disruptions caused by the cyber attack.

Source: Noah Wire Services