Marks & Spencer launches bookable group suit fittings ahead of peak wedding season

Marks & Spencer is launching bookable group suits fittings at 25 of its largest stores as final restrictions are set to lift on weddings in England on 19 July.

This service allows men the convenience of booking a slot for suit styling and fitting (an option that wasn’t available pre-pandemic).

M&S will continue to offer a walk-in service at stores with an extensive suit offer and, as part of its digital stores initiative, it is also offering an online consultation service – with immediate video calls and virtual appointments both available on M&S.com.

These sessions take place with experienced M&S menswear colleagues and follow the successful rollout of video consultations for bra fittings and furniture shopping.

The bookable in-store sessions offer customers a personalised consultation with a specially trained suit fitter to explore different styles. Customers fill in a short form ahead of their appointment, allowing the fitter to prepare some options in advance.

As well as exploring different styles and trying on various options, customers are measured, so they can purchase with complete confidence that it’s the correct size. The option to attend as a group is expected to be particularly popular with grooms and their wedding party.

To further support wedding parties the retailer is continuing with its “Groom Goes Free - Buy 3 Suits, Get the 4^th Free” offer.

The service isn't just restricted to suits, customers will also be offered the opportunity to explore more casual items alongside formalwear and how they can be dressed together. This is particularly important since the pandemic has hastened the casualisation of men's dressing.

Wes Taylor, M&S Menswear Director commented:“As restrictions have eased customer interest in suits both online and in-store has picked up. We know our customers will be dressing more casually in the future which is why when they do purchase a suit – be it for a wedding, the races, a prom - we need to make it even easier, with services like bookable in-store suit fitting or our new online video consultations.

"Alongside our suit offer we also continue to focus on offering easy to wear, stylish smart clothing that can be worn in lots of different ways – ideal for those who are beginning to think about what to wear for a return to the office.”

In response to the trend towards more casual dressing M&S has adapted some of its smarter styles with innovations including stretch fabrics on tailored jackets and drawcord waistbands on trousers.

Stores offering the new service are:

• Aberdeen
• Argyle St Glasgow
• Bluewater
• Braehead
• Bromley
• Camberley
• Cheshire Oaks
• Cribbs Causeway
• Culverhouse Cross
• Fosse Park
• Gyle
• Handforth
• Hedge End
• Kingston
• Lisburn
• London Colney
• Marble Arch
• Meadowhall
• Metro Centre
• Milton Keynes
• Pantheon, Oxford Street
• Pollok Glasgow
• Stratford City London
• Thurrock
• Trafford Centre