M&S issues update on Sparks loyalty scheme after discount trial

Marks and Spencer has confirmed it is ending its "Sparks Prices" trial which offered loyalty card shoppers cheaper prices in stores.

Sparks Prices operated similarly to the Tesco Clubcard Prices and Sainsbury's Nectar Prices. For example, Sparks shoppers could get a chicken Deluxe Family Dine-In deal for £13 instead of the regular £15 price tag.

The trial was launched last year in roughly 50 locations in South Wales, Northeast England, and the West Midlands but it won't be extended, the Mirror reports. M&S CEO Stuart Machin confirmed the trial would end through its Christmas trading update last week, according to the Grocer Magazine.

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The M&S boss said the chain was "reviewing" its loyalty programme. He added: "Do I see us doing Sparks prices? To be honest, I don’t.”

He continued: "I think there’s an opportunity with our loyalty programme and we are exploring those opportunities now. We know our customers would much rather have great products at everyday trusted prices and I’m quite stuck to that because that’s what our customers tell us."

Mr Machin highlighted that it was a "different matter" as to whether he liked the scheme and that he preferred M&S to focus on "quality, style and value". He added that there were 18 million customers under the loyalty programme and that their 12 Days of M&S advent calendar-style promotion had "resonated well" with them in the Christmas period.

An M&S spokesperson said: “We are reviewing our current Sparks loyalty offer and as part of that, often trial new and different propositions. Last year, we carried out some small-scale