High street retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) is to roll out contactless payments across its stores, it has been announced today.
Initially, the option will be available in 25 stores across the retailer‘s London network, including stores at Marble Arch and Stratford City following a successful trial.
Provided by Streamline and Visa Europe, which yesterday announced that the first week of the Olympics saw tourist spend in the UK rise eight per cent on the same week last year, the contactless payment seeks to speed up the shopping experience while reducing the security risk of having large amounts of cash on site.
Darren Wilson, Managing Director of Streamline, said: “Contactless technology is perfectly placed to speed up transactions and reduce queuing times.
“It is becoming increasingly popular on the high street and we predict that the technology will have a very positive effect on the shopper experience at Marks and Spencer.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that M&S is undertaking a digital revamp and is trialling iPads in-store and a spokesperson for the retailer told Retail Gazette that this is proof of its commitment to improving the customer experience.
Commenting on the latest development Mark Austin, Head of Contactless at Visa Europe, said: “We are delighted that Marks & Spencer has decided to adopt contactless technology and believe the introduction of this service will be of great value to their customers.
“We now have over 21 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK and we are excited to add Marks & Spencer to the list of retailers accepting contactless payments in all of their stores.”
Last month, M&S announced a like-for-like sales fall of 2.8 per cent in its first quarter and promised to strengthen its team while working toward becoming “an international, multi-channel retailer.”
