M&S Opticians will open in 55 of the national retailer’s sites over the next 18 months after the concession was trialled by optical and audiology operator Owl Optical.
Its expansion was part of a Marks & Spencer initiative to introduce additional services and provide customers with the option to take care of their eye health while doing their weekly shop.
M&S Opticians told Optician it recognised customers wanted convenience. A spokesperson said: ‘That’s why M&S is working hard to offer a seamless shopping experience that allows customers to shop how they want and when they want, whether in-store, online, or a mixture of the two.’
The rollout included recent openings at Longbridge in Birmingham, Metro Centre in Gateshead, Hedge End and West Quay in Southampton, Bluewater in Dartford and Culverhouse Cross in Cardiff.
M&S Opticians currently has 13 sites, with a further 42 to open by April 2023, and all 55 will be operated by Owl Optical, which is part of the Scrivens Group.
The rollout paused during the pandemic but M&S Opticians told Optician the number of stores and speed of rollout was unaffected.
Nicholas Georgevic, chair of Owl Optical, said: ‘Following a very successful trial, we are extremely excited by the expansion plan for M&S Opticians over the next 18 months. Working in partnership with M&S, we aim to offer a market-leading optical and hearing care service across the whole of the UK – spanning M&S glasses, designer brands, sunglasses, and our comprehensive hearing care customer proposition.
‘We’re particularly looking forward to growing our M&S Opticians team to deliver this plan and are actively recruiting eye care and hearing care professionals as well as front of house and back-office staff.’
Omnichannel approach
Owl Optical has worked with M&S Opticians since September 2019, after a trial of six practices with Galaxy Optical ended, which resulted in immediate closure of all sites because both parties failed to reach an agreement for a national rollout.
During a relaunched trial, which ended this summer, M&S Opticians received a customer satisfaction rate and customer recommendation rate of 96%.
Its eyewear offering included a range of M&S branded frames, as well as third-party eyewear.
An omnichannel approach has been adopted by M&S Opticians, with its Sparks loyalty programme incorporated and targeted emails, offers and rewards sent to loyal
customers.
Patients can visit in store for a physical experience, or go online to book appointments, as well as view, purchase and try on frames using its virtual try-on tool.
It was hoped this approach would help M&S Opticians capture a share of the £4bn UK opticians market.
M&S Opticians told Optician: ‘We really dialled up our omnichannel credentials as we recognised customers wanted both an in-store and online offer. This included the launch of the virtual try on tool, which has been popular with customers.
‘During the trial, we also launched an in-store hearing service that again proved a popular service with customers and now forms part of the core offering in the stores, along with a contact lens service delivered direct to home as customers were asking to be added to a list ready for when any service launched.’
Customer convenience
M&S Opticians said from March to June, 2020, more than 10,000 people in England, Wales and Scotland missed out on essential eye care because of the
pandemic.
An M&S survey in September, 2021 found 64% of people would take their health more seriously than they did before the pandemic.
It hoped by expanding it would meet the demand created by missed appointments and recognised it was an important time for patients who were prioritising their health.
M&S Opticians said: ‘Unfortunately, over the past 18 months, many people pushed eye care to the back of their priorities. However, as we come out of the pandemic, research shows people are taking their health and wellbeing more seriously than they did previously, which is great.’
M&S Opticians added it wanted to put eye health front of mind for as many people as possible and hoped by expanding nationally, more people would consider having a regular check-up.
Sacha Berendji, group property, store development and IT director at M&S, said: ‘We know our customers trust us to deliver first-rate specialist services – whether it’s a suit-fit for a big occasion or a bra-fit appointment with one of our expert colleagues – and M&S Opticians is just the latest example of this.
‘Feedback from our trial showed customers loved the convenience of having an opticians within our store and we’re really excited to be introducing the service to more stores across the UK and giving customers even more reasons to shop at M&S.