Leading British retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S), has renewed its partnership with Retail Insight, the leading provider of in-store execution software, for a further three years. It will continue to leverage Retail Insight’s AI-powered solution, WasteInsight, to tackle food waste as part of its sustainability commitments, as it seeks to become a net zero business across its value chain by 2040.
A cornerstone of British retail, M&S operates over 1,000 stores in the UK on top of well-known franchises, including WHSmith and Moto. Renowned for its high-quality food, clothing and home products, M&S has consistently been at the forefront of retail innovation and customer satisfaction.
Since launching in 2007, M&S’ Plan A has underpinned the retailer’s ESG vision and in 2021 it reset its Plan A goals, aiming to become net zero across all operations by 2040. Alongside responsible sourcing, reducing carbon emissions and recycling, food waste reduction is among the ten immediate priority areas M&S identified for transformation on its journey to net zero.
First partnering with Retail Insight in 2021, its AI-powered solution, WasteInsight, has been instrumental in delivering dynamic markdown strategies to help M&S reduce food waste, while increasing sell-through.
WasteInsight puts retailers in control of food waste through data-led, actionable insights that support businesses’ entire waste journeys. Analysing foundational retail data, the solution applies a Machine Learning (ML) model to provide dynamic markdown prices that encourage sell-through and reduce waste. As well as enabling dynamic discounts, WasteInsight also addresses expiration management, offers more efficient donations to charities and drives improved forecasting accuracy, allowing retailers to sell more while wasting less.
Chris Thomas, head of product for åstore operations at M&S, commented: “Our collaboration with Retail Insight over the past three years has been incredibly impactful. The WasteInsight solution has delivered significant waste reduction benefits over the past three years, as well as improving overall operational efficiency. We look forward to continuing to work with the Retail Insight team to help us meet our net zero targets.”
Kieran O’Brien, VP customer success EMEA at Retail Insight, added: “We are excited to extend our partnership with Marks & Spencer and we’re proud of the strong relationship we have built with the retailer as part of our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that drive success. Our close working relationship has been pivotal in enabling success and we will continue drive down waste and enhance efficiency across its stores.”
