It’s not just third-party fashion brands M&S is developing. The retail giant is backing up its impressive rebound by signing a new agreement with its financial partner HSBC UK to deliver a “better, more relevant and modernised experience for M&S customers”.

The widened agreement focuses on improving M&S’s credit offer, payment solutions, while “bringing together digital payments and loyalty for M&S customers”.

This includes the current M&S Club Rewards scheme that will now be able to offer members “extra loyalty points, treat vouchers, and more under the scheme, for a fee”.

M&S said this next stage in their agreement will “offer a more connected digital shopping experience for M&S customers”… while “rewarding and driving loyalty”. 

And that’s key in its current growth phase, with the retailer saying its two million credit card users are already  “among its most loyal customers, spending incrementally more than customers without a M&S credit card and representing [around] 16% of M&S’ turnover”.

The new agreement will enable M&S to bring together rewards, Sparks, digital payments and credit “to create an easier to access and more personalised in-app experience for customers where they can shop, pay, earn and redeem rewards all in one place”.

Over the last 18 months, it said the partnership has digitised M&S rewards vouchers and launched Sparks Pay – a digital payment solution, with in-store QR payment technology.

Paul Spencer, CEO, M&S Bank, added: “Our customers’ shopping and payment needs have continued to evolve in recent years, and offering more digital solutions and greater integration is key to meeting these needs.”