M&S fashion rivals ‘benefited from its pause on online orders after cyber-attack’

Marks & Spencer’s sales slumped, while Next, Zara and H&M experienced pickup, analysts say

Next, Zara and H&M all benefited from extra sales when their rival Marks & Spencer was forced to halt orders on its website for almost seven weeks after a major cyber-attack that weighed on its own sales.

Clothing sales at M&S slumped by a fifth in the four weeks to 25 May compared with the same period a year before after the website, which usually accounts for a third of M&S’s clothing and homeware sales, stopped taking orders. Sales had soared 11.5% in the prior three months, according to the latest figures from analysts at Kantar.