However, one ex Marks & Spencer employee has lifted the lid on the store’s biggest secrets including how you could save loads on your next shop.
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Lauren Whedbee-Sell, 29, a teacher who lives in Burgess Hill with husband Kiaren, 28, also a teacher, worked in three different branches of the store in Bournemouth and Shoreham between 2016-2018 while she was studying at university.
And while she might have been on a limited budget, Lauren’s student fridge was always stuffed full of luxury food from the shop thanks to her insider perks.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Lauren explains: “One of the best things about working at the staff discount.
“We got 20 per cent and I would use mine on yellow sticker bargains meaning my fridge was stocked full.
“And as a staff member it meant I always got first dibs”
While yellow sticker deals are available to all M&S customers, anyone who has ever tried to rummage through a reduced section of a supermarket will know that it can be slim pickings.
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But Lauren has revealed the prime time to visit the supermarket in order to have the pick of the best offers.
“People always think that reductions are made at random but there is actually a really specific time to be shopping for them,” she explains.
“The first run happens in the morning within the first hour of the shop opening but don’t go as the shop opens as we won’t have had time to get the reductions made.
“After about 45-50 minutes you should be able to find some decent bargains, particularly on a weekday as many people will be in the office when they go out.
“But if you hang on until the end of the day you can get even more money off.
“In the last hour of opening, staff will round up anything that had been reduced in the morning, get a second reduction and put it in one dedicated area.”
Of course it isn’t just the Foodhall that is peppered with discounts, with clothing and home both having sales, but according to Lauren you have definitely been going at the wrong time.
“You would be forgiven for thinking that January would be the best time to head to the sales but that’s not the case at M&S,” she says.
“You are actually better off heading to the store on Christmas Eve as that’s when we start our sales.
“Of course you would have the pick of the best goods too as most people don’t realise there are discounts available then and have already bagged all their Christmas presents.
“Throughout the year you will find additional sales that won’t necessarily be advertised at the end of each season to make way for new stock.
“Those hoping to bag a discount outside of a sale won’t have much luck if they attempt to haggle .
“However, very few customers will realise just how much money you can save with a Sparks card.
“It is totally tailored to you and gives you offers on the items you are buying so it is totally worth having.”
When it comes to stuff that isn’t worth having, Lauren has revealed which M&S items are not worth forking out the extra for.
“M&S is known for its high quality but there are some things that are just not worth playing the extra for,” she explains
“The fresh fruit and vegetables are just as good as any supermarket. There is very little difference.
“I’m convinced a lot of the suppliers are actually the same as other shops too!”
Lauren also revealed the types of customers that really get on the staff’s nerves.
“We would get plenty of entitled customers,” she says.
“The Dine In offer is where they thrived, they would always try and swap out the items in the deal for alternatives and then become extremely irate when I explained that this wasn’t how it worked!
“Just because you shop in M&S it doesn’t mean you need to act superior!”
When approached for a comment, a spokesperson for M&S told Fabulous: “All our fresh produce comes from our Select Farm partners and are grown to M&S quality standards.”