Marks & Spencer rolls out checkout-free service as part of digital first strategy

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has recently announced the launch of its scan and pay service --Mobile, Pay, Go -- which will be available for customers in six London stores ahead of Christmas.

The roll out follows a “successful trial” of the service at grocery store Waterside Simply Food over the summer. The store now sees 20% of its sales from Mobile, Pay, Go with an average of 170 items being purchased through the app every hour.

Mobile, Pay, Go is the simple way customers can pay for items without approaching a till. Customers can open the M&S app, scan products as they go and then pay from their iPhone using Apple Pay or a saved card on their M&S.com account up to the value of £30 (US$39).

With the service enabling customers to purchase lunch in as little as 40 seconds, according to the company, the app is set to be particularly helpful in stores where a high proportion of transactions take place over lunchtime. In M&S’s Waterside Simply Food, 60% of transactions take place between 12pm and 2pm and more than 1,500 people have already used Mobile, Pay, Go with 1/3 of active users making five or more transactions a week.

Sacha Berendji, Retail, Operations and Property director at Marks & Spencer, said: “Digitally enabled stores that offer a seamless customer experience are a crucial part of our transformation and our ambition to be a Digital First retailer.

"Our customers -- especially those who come to us for lunch -- are so busy, any tech that can speed up the shopping experience is a massive benefit to them. Crucially, it also means our brilliant colleagues are freed up to offer great service in other parts of the store, helping to improve the overall experience in the lunchtime rush. We’re moving with pace and we can’t wait to hear what our customers think."

Jim Cruickshank, global head of Digital Product and UX at Marks & Spencer, added: “Mobile Pay Go is one of many new initiatives we're developing as part of our digital transformation, with agile and lean practices at the core of our approach. We’ve worked hard to deliver the fastest and most friction-free customer experience possible.”

M&S will continue to collect customer feedback and adapt Mobile, Pay, Go before rolling out to more stores early next year. Following an initial collaboration with The App Business, this roll out is being fully managed and developed by M&S’s in-house digital experts.