Understanding the Marketing Strategies of Marks & Spencer (M&S) in UK

 

Module Title:	Marketing, Sales, and Negotiation Skills
Module Code:	QHO423 Marketing, Sales, and Negotiation Skills
Assessment Title:	Individual Marketing Report
Assessment Number:	AE1

Introduction

Marks & Spencer (M&S) was established in 1884 and is one of the UK’s most well-known retailers with a strong offering in food, clothing, and home. M&S is positioned uniquely as a retailer in the UK and is synonymous with quality and trust in both food and clothing. 

Marketing is essential for M&S’s business strategy. It furthers brand loyalty, brand quality, and develops appeal to a younger demographic while maintaining a very strong commitment to sustainability. Marketing is also necessary for M&S to achieve key objectives like revenue growth, further digital use, and repositioning in an increasingly competitive market. M&S competes with Tesco in food and Zara in clothing, and marketing is needed in order to maintain differentiation for long-term sustainability.

PESTLE & SWOT Analysis

Factor	Impact on M&S
Political	Brexit created supply chain challenges and import delays, strict government food safety and labelling standards.
Eonomic	Inflation and the cost-of-living crisis reduce consumer spending on premium products; wage increases raise operating costs.
Social	Growing demand for healthy eating and sustainable fashion; younger generations prefer fast fashion and online shopping.
Technological	Investment in online delivery, Ocado partnership, use of AI for supply chain optimisation, and customer insights.
Legal	Compliance with employment law, food safety regulations, and advertising restrictions.
Environmental	Plan A sustainability programme, carbon neutrality goals, and plastic packaging reduction to meet customer expectations.

 

SWOT Analysis of M&S

Strengths	Weaknesses
Good brand equity and trust	An outdated fashion image is not appealing to youth
Prestige quality in food products	Slower digital transformation compared to rivals
Loyal customer base	High operating costs and reliance on the UK market

 

Opportunities	Threats
Expand online food delivery via Ocado	Intense competition from fast fashion brands (Zara, H&M)
Growth in sustainable clothing and eco-friendly initiatives	Price competition from supermarkets (Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury’s)
Collaboration with upcoming designers and digital influencers	Discount retailers and changing consumer buying habits.

Summary: PESTLE brings M&S's vulnerabilities to light and identifies external pressures such as economic uncertainty and changing social preferences. SWOT demonstrates how M&S's presence in the food realm is strong; however, it needs to reposition the clothing segment, as there are challenges here.

brands (Zara, Working on PESTLE & SWOT analysis for your assignments? Get assignment helper support from Locus Assignments. 

Marketing Mix (7Ps of M&S)

 

7P	M&S Example
Product	Premium food, quality clothing, and homeware, including sustainable and healthy ranges.
Price	Mid-to-premium pricing model, with loyalty promotions and selective discounts.
Place	1,000+ UK stores, strong online presence, Ocado partnership, and M&S app.
Promotion	Iconic seasonal campaigns (e.g., Christmas ads), influencer partnerships, and social media marketing.
People	Customer-centric staff training, ethical employment, and employee engagement programmes.
Process	Smooth online ordering, click & collect, and efficient checkout systems.
Physical Evidence	Modernised store layouts, eco-conscious packaging, recognisable branding, and logos.

Functional explanations

Product: M&S stands out because of its uniquely innovative food ranges and an increasing number of sustainable clothing lines, as consumer trends and demands continue to push toward sustainable living. 

Price: M&S establishes a price point of mid-to-premium, which is connected to the quality of its product offerings. M&S maintains its value proposition in relation to its competitors by using promotions and loyalty programmes. 

Place: M&S has an immense physical store location where consumers can access their offerings and food, which is also supported by online channels and Ocado, which produces grocery delivery. 

Promotion: Marketing communications are very strong. TV adverts, social media marketing, and influencer marketing feed into stronger emotional connections between the customers and M&S.

People: M&S is focused on values that shape their business operation and strong customer investment in training its employees to maintain this high standard. 

Process: Digitalising parts of the shopping experience has improved every aspect of the shopping experience, including faster checkouts and click and collect for the e-commerce space. 

Physical Evidence: The store experience, packaging, and brand reinforce the argument and perceived image as a trusted and sustainable business and product.

Conclusion

The analysis clearly emphasises the strengths behind M&S's brand identity, food leadership, and sustainability but also highlights weaknesses in modernising in the fashion sector and competing digitally. PESTLE analysis underscores economic headwinds and sustainability pressures, together with the SWOT, explaining opportunities in relation to digital market expansion but threats from fast fashion and discount business models. M&S's performance with the 7Ps is admirable in a food marketing sense, but clothing appeal is lacking.

Recommendations: 

1. Update the range of clothing to connect with new, fashion-minded customers through influencers and new designs.

2. Enhance digital marketing and social media campaigns, customer targeting through AI, and a seamless online experience. 

3. Increase sustainability efforts and use more sustainable materials with environmentally friendly fabrics and greater transparency in our supply chains.

4. Boost online convenience, faster delivery systems, extend click & collect, and enhance digital support channels.

Need help writing assignments like this? Locus Assignments is here to support you with expert assignment help. Whether you are looking for help with essays from an assignment helper in the UK or need detailed marketing analysis for your coursework, Locus Assignments’ team ensures clear, well-structured, and high-quality content to help you score better.

Get in touch with us today!