M&S is expecting to have its “busiest Christmas” at its flagship online distribution centre in Castle Donington.
The fashion and food giant estimated that around 6m online orders would be picked and packed at the Midlands site, Retail Week reported.
An additional 850 workers have been hired to cater for demand, making the total number of staff members at the distribution centre 3,000.
It comes as clothing and home sales at M&S increased 11.3% during its first half, making that a third of its total.
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Speaking at its latest interim results, M&S CEO Stuart Machin said: “With clothing in growth and strong online performance, we are clear that now is the time to seize the opportunity in other categories including home and beauty.
“Across clothing and home online, we need to accelerate our transformation and reimagine our proposition.”
He continued: “Under new leadership, we’ve now got a grip on our digital and technology infrastructure, as progress to date has been slower than we would have liked, so we must accelerate delivery.”
M&S overtook Waitrose for the first time outside the festive period in October, as it claimed the title of Middle England’s favourite grocer.
Unpublished market data seen by The Telegraph revealed the retailer outpaced Waitrose in sales over the period, with stronger growth than any other supermarket.
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