When will M&S be back online? Everything we know about the cyber attack

8 May 2025, 16:59

Marks and Spencer face on going sale issues as the result of being hacked - here's everything you need to know about online orders, refunds and when online services are expected to resume.

M&S has become the latest big victim of a cyber attack which has seen them lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in profit as they fight to reclaim their system against hackers linked to the Scattered Spider, a cybercriminal group.

With Marks and Spencer halting all their online business, and shops seeing empty shelves, customers are keen to know when the popular high street brand will be back up and operating as normal.

On Friday 26th April, bosses suspended all online orders with M&S still unable to operate digitally weeks later. As a result, the company has seen their value plummet on the most recent stock markets and have warned customers it could be months before they're operating normally again.

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When will M&S be back online?

As it stands, the cyber attack is still causing huge waves of devastation across the company with no signs of their digital shopping returning to business. Orders and returns online are still currently suspended.

At present, bosses are unable to give a time frame as to when online shopping can resume and have said: "We are working very hard to get operations back online."

Their latest statement, given before the May bank holiday read: "We are really sorry that we've not been able to offer you the service you expect from M&S over the last week. "We are working day and night to manage the current cyber incident and get things back to normal for you as quickly as possible.

"Thank-you from me and everyone at M&S for all the support you have shown us. We do not take it for granted and we are incredibly grateful."

Talking about the recovery, an insider told Sky News: "It could even be a matter of months before things are back to normal. The idea is to have some services go back online bit by bit. Not do the whole shebang, but allow the people in the store and to allow people online to have services."

Returns are also impacted by the cyber attack with customers told to head to their local stores and find the designated till to return items. You can also return via the post.

Marks and Spencer's Food Hall are currently not accepting returns. Anyone with a gift card will also be unable to use them until matters are resolved.

What's happening with online Marks and Spencer orders?

As of April 26th, no further orders on the site were able to go ahead but M&S has said any customers who placed orders after Wednesday 23rd April will see their transaction cancelled with a full refund given.

If you placed an order before that date, they have advised you wait for your "ready to collect" email before coming to stores to collect it.

For those who have made food orders, the problem is slightly different. The orders are coming in but the "ready to collect" email has been able to go out so they've encouraged customers to collect as normal.

What happened to Marks and Spencer?

A cyber attack which happened around Tuesday 22nd April has left Marks and Spencer in chaos as it's caused the brand to stop operating many avenues of its business.

Currently, the issue is unresolved, but it has been linked to hackers, Scattered Spider, and is believed to be ransomware - software designed to block a system, forcing those impacted to pay a ransom to get it back.