Marks & Spencer resumed online clothing and homeware orders on June 10, 2025, after a 46-day suspension caused by a ransomware attack. Deliveries are now live across England, Scotland and Wales, with other services to return in stages. The breach is believed to have cost the retailer up to £300 million.
It started quietly, then spread fast. One email. One breach. And suddenly, Marks & Spencer — one of Britain’s most recognised retailers — was offline.
For 46 days, customers couldn’t order clothes or homeware online. Contactless payments failed in stores. Support lines were flooded. Inside the business, the response wasn’t just about recovery. It was about survival.
Today, M&S took its first step back. The retailer has reopened its online shopping platform for fashion and home items — but only partially. For now, only customers in England, Scotland, and Wales can place standard delivery orders. Click-and-collect? Not yet. Next-day? Still off. Northern Ireland and international orders remain on hold. The phrase repeated by staff is “phased return.” No promises, just progress.
The Cost of Silence
The attack hit on April 22. A ransomware group, believed to be linked to a known cybercrime ring, gained access through a third-party supplier. M&S won’t say how much was demanded, or whether negotiations took place. But three days later, the decision was made to shut down large parts of its operations. For customers, it looked like the site simply vanished.
The company said little at the time. No major statements. No breakdown of what data was taken. Eventually, it confirmed names, addresses, dates of birth and purchase history had been stolen. No passwords or card details were accessed. Still, the message was clear: systems were compromised. And M&S didn’t have a playbook ready for this scale of disruption.
Counting the Losses
Retail insiders say M&S’s online clothing and home business brings in about £25 million per week. If that’s accurate, the 46-day shutdown could amount to roughly £300 million in missed revenue. Insurance might cover some of it. But the bigger loss? Customer confidence. And time.
The outage came at a critical moment — post-Easter, early summer, a period where sales typically spike. Instead, the website went silent. Frustrated shoppers took to social media. Some questioned why it took days to receive refunds. Others said they hadn’t been notified at all.
By the time the first update appeared on the homepage, the damage had already settled in.
“This Was a Wake-Up Call”
M&S boss Stuart Machin didn’t mince words. In an internal message shared with staff last week, he called the incident “one of the most serious operational challenges” the company has ever faced.
Now, the response is clear. A digital transformation programme originally planned over three years will now be completed in just 18 months. That includes replacing outdated systems, reviewing supplier agreements, and rethinking how M&S protects customer data.
There’s also a wider industry reckoning happening. This wasn’t a targeted attack on M&S alone. The same group has been linked to incidents in the U.S. and Europe. Experts say retail — especially businesses relying on older third-party software — is increasingly vulnerable.
What’s Really Changed?
M&S says its systems are more secure now. That its new rollout strategy is designed to avoid further damage. But behind closed doors, staff admit there are still questions about how the breach happened, and why it took so long to relay clear information to customers.
Shoppers returning to the site today will find a stripped-back experience. Fewer options. Slower delivery times. Limited stock. But they’ll also find a business trying to regain its footing — publicly, and carefully.
What Comes Next
The next few weeks will define the recovery. If the relaunch holds, if services return on time, if no further breaches occur, M&S might begin to rebuild the trust it lost. But it won’t be quick.
The company isn’t offering a timeline for full service restoration. And it isn’t celebrating today’s relaunch. It’s calling it what it is: the beginning of a slow, necessary return to normal.
For a brand that’s been around for more than a century, the past 46 days have been among its most uncertain. Today, it’s back online. But the real work — the harder part — starts now.
