New M&S Store, Stevenage

Love Percy Pig on the roof!!

I’m always on the hunt for new food stores and heard that Marks & Spencer were opening a new place in Stevenage in April. A trip was necessary!

M&S have thoroughly overhauled the old Debenhams there and turned it into a flagship venue. And I really like it! All the usual departments are there, but the store feels spacious and modern (even though it was full of people when I went).

The cafe is big and has tech - you order at screens as you enter or via your mobile when seated. The only problems I found were that waiting times were long (lots of customers, not enough staff) and the M&S Sparks card didn’t link with the online ordering system, when ordering from the table. But the workers, though run off their feet, were super-friendly.

Unsurprisingly, I liked the food hall the best. They have a couple of new features I haven’t seen in other M&S stores - a refill station, where you can buy food with less packaging or take your own containers. And a place where you could buy cleaning stuff in containers that you can refill there. I also saw a recycling facility instore. So really good environmental things going on!

Given it’s not far from the A1 Junction 7 (about a mile away), it’s a good place too to break your journey if you are in that area.