Sales from Marks & Spencer’s website M&S.com fell by 8.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, while food like-for-like sales rose 1.7 per cent.
Like-for-like sales in the UK rose by 0.3 per cent.
The company said its buoyant food business has been driven by a strategy to be more specialist, as well as new products.
Chief executive Marc Bolland said the new M&S.com site has had an impact on general merchandise sales, while food continues to outperform the market.
“Our food business had a great quarter with our strategy to be more specialist setting us apart from the competition,” he said.“With value top of mind for customers, we remained price competitive while protecting our gross margin. We launched some 700 new products giving customers more choice than ever.
“In line with our increased focus on margin, we were less promotional, both online and in stores. While this has affected the sales performance, particularly online, we are on track to deliver our full year gross margin guidance.'
Bolland confirmed that the premium retailer is on track to open 150 new Simply Food stores opening over the next three years.
He said the website has been “technically resilient” and confirmed the company is now focused on optimising the website commercially, with updates made on a regular basis.
“We have recently seen a gradual improvement in sales performance, despite a lower level of promotional activity. We expect to return to growth ahead of our peak trading period,” he added.
Trading conditions in the Republic of Ireland continue to be challenging, Bolland said, while sales in the Middle East were impacted by the timing of shipments to franchise partners.
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