Marks & Spencer opens digital lab division
Marks & Spencer has established a digital lab division to speed up the rate of technology innovation both in-store and online.
The new team will be headed up by former Reevoo.com chief technology and product officer Kyle McGinn. It will focus on prototyping and developing a range of e-commerce and in-store technologies as well as on digital marketing and the use of digital platforms for employees.
Marks & Spencer pledged last month to transform itself into an international multi-channel retailer following a 10.8% increase in multi-channel sales over the Christmas trading period. This included a 90% increase in sales from mobile devices.
Laura Wade-Gery, executive director e-commerce multi-channel said: “Over the last 18 months we’ve really embraced digital experimentation – from being the first retailer to join Samsung’s Smart TV platform to the inclusion of Aurasma technology in our app.
Never Miss a Retail Update!“By strengthening our in-house expertise with a dedicated digital lab, we can move with even greater pace and deliver first to market technology and experiences for our customers.”
Commenting on the development, Heikki Haldre, founder and chief executive of the Fits.me virtual fitting room said: “There are thousands of retail innovations on the market, so it’s very difficult for a retailer to know which ones are going to have a positive impact on sales and on their brand. It follows that it’s a difficult decision for retailers to bet significant resources and investment on a particular solution without real evidence from some sort of pilot.
“Innovators and solution providers should probably look at what M&S is doing here, and think very carefully about making sure their solution is ‘light’ enough, from an implementation point of view, to be tested quickly and easily by this sort of agile evaluation group. It’s most likely the way forward.”
