M&S budget range is Simply unconvincing, claims retail analyst

Marks & Spencer’s new budget range has divided opinion, with industry analysts describing it as “a sensible response to the success of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s” and “too little too late”.

The Simply M&S range, announced last week, consists of 350 existing and 160 new lines, including bigger format skus, and is the latest initiative aiming to persuade its shoppers to do a fuller shop and to increase average basket spend from £12.

But Verdict analyst Sarah Peters said this was “an unconvincing strategy given the absence of parking at most Marks & Spencer stores”. She suggested “it would have been better off bringing out more premium products.”

A shopping trip by The Grocer for a dozen grocery basics set us back £11.01, a fraction more than the equivalent products in the Waitrose Essentials and Sainsbury’s standard own-label ranges, which cost £10.98 and £10.72 respectively.

In contrast to past price matching, which had been against Tesco, M&S labels were “price checked with Sainsbury’s”.

Kantar Retail analyst Bryan Roberts said this made sense given the overlap in the retailers’ shopper profiles and recent improvement in the perception of Sainsbury’s prices. But Peters added: “Two years after Waitrose Essentials, this is too little and too late.”