MARKS & Spencer is rolling out its new ‘Sparks Book and Shop’ service in Llandudno and Prestatyn.

The new initiative, launching Friday, October 23, is part of M&S’s commitment to help customers shop with confidence.

Customers will need to visit marksandspencer.com/bookandshop, choose a timeslot that suits them, arrive at M&S Prestatyn or Llandudno at their designated time before checking-in with the team member at the entrance.

Start times are allocated in 30-minute intervals.

Allison Jenkins, regional manager for South Wales, said: “All of our foodhalls in Wales, including M&S Prestatyn – both standalone and those within our larger stores - are open and set up with extensive measures in place to help our customers shop safely and confidently.

“Designed by our in-house tech teams, our new Sparks Book & Shop service allows customers to guarantee a shopping slot at a time that suits them and removes the need to queue, should there be one.

“For customers who haven’t reserved a slot, we have accelerated our Queue Smart trial across all Welsh stores – enabling customers to queue virtually from the comfort of their car or another location should they need to.”

The rollout follows on from a successful month-long initial trial at six stores in Wales in August.

M&S is the first major retailer to launch such a service.

The service is being launched ahead of the 'fire-break' in Wales.

M&S has accelerated the rollout of its ‘Queue Smart’ trial – to help deliver a better experience for customers who have not pre-booked a slot.

This allows customers to join a virtual queue. They are then kept updated via SMS notifications, which tells them how long they have left to wait and when it’s their turn to enter the store.

Queue Smart will be activated at the discretion of each store - depending on the size of the queue - and managed by the host at the front door using their handheld device.

Hosts will continue to welcome customers that arrives at M&S and will advise them how the queuing system will work - or simply let them straight in if the store isn’t at maximum capacity.

To use the new service, visit www.marksandspencer.com/bookandshop

Customers will need to show their email confirmation to the M&S colleague at the door.