Marks & Spencer has terminated its in-store ordering and collection service and is instead asking shoppers to order goods online or over the phone for home delivery.

The shift is at odds with the trend at many other retailers, which have increasingly offered a variety of multichannel options via stores, such as click-and-collect services.

A M&S spokeswoman said the change would not inconvenience customers. “The vast majority of M&S customers find what they are looking for in-store or use our website and telephone ordering service for direct deliveries to their chosen address,” she said.

One multichannel retail consultant was surprised at the decision.

He said: “That might be how existing M&S customers behave, but what about future ones?”

It is thought that M&S intends to restore some form of in-store collection at an unspecified future date.