Mark & Spencer’s have acknowledged that it had ‘under-invested’ in ecommerce services, with the UK retailer falling behind rivals in the online marketplace.

M&S have now moved to expand online platforms, including the construction of a new 900,000 square foot facility to process ecommerce orders, able to handle one million transactions a day.

The new facility will also help to increase the distribution time of goods, decreasing the time it takes to move goods between ports and stores by 70 percent.

M&S currently sells 15 percent of its cloths and home ware items through online platforms, rivals such a Next sell close to 35 percent of stock through web based services. Factors such as the average age range of customers are also likely to have accounted for the difference.

M&S are now in the process of developing their independent website, moving away from their current Amazon based offering, which has acted as a barrier to foreign markets.

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