Gen Z is supposed to be skint. We’re priced out of houses, putting off having children and watching the cost of an ordinary food shop creep up every week. And yet there is one store my generation seems not only happy to spend money in, but is completely obsessed with: Marks & Spencer.
What was once reserved for special occasion picky bits and underwear has won over me and my cash-strapped generation. I’m as surprised as anyone. Growing up, it was the sort of shop I was dragged into to find a school skirt or would occasionally accompany my Nan to get the bread she liked. It was dependable, a little bit posh, most definitely a once-in-a-while destination. I would never have anticipated that, at 24, I’d be spending my evenings desperately refreshing the M&S website to try and get my hands on its checked bomber jacker (£68) that’s been an instant sell out.
How did they pull it off? For a start, they’ve mastered social media marketing, and products that go viral. Scroll through TikTok and you’ll find young women showing off their latest M&S haul, fashion creators declaring the high-street finds of the season, and a new viral cookie that everyone must try. I’m hooked on the posts by Kathryn Turner, M&S Food’s director of product development who currently has 271,000 followers. She’s become a social media phenomenon by simply walking round an M&S Foodhall and showing people new products, from cotton candy grapes to pasta sauces.
Her videos rack up millions of views, attract hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments. She revealed in a LinkedIn post two months ago that her social success has been driven by two 20-somethings on her team, who helped her grow from 30 TikTok followers to 101,000 in eight weeks. “Would follow this woman into war,” reads one. “This woman is a genius,” says another.
Gen Z is obsessed with food, but – if my friends are anything to go by – not so interested in cooking. So M&S’s combination of luxury and convenience is catnip to us. They pioneered “picky bits”, set to continue their reign over dinner parties and get-togethers even as summer ends. Its Food Halls have become places to discover the next new thing everyone will be talking about, and social media is scattered with M&S food nights and taste tests.
The hype is everywhere: my fiance, 26, who is never really interested in trends, is already waiting for the release of the Chocolate Cornflake Cookies for Christmas, having heard about them months in advance (via Turner, of course). We’re regulars in our local Food Hall; we’ve tried most combinations in the two-for-one Dine-In options, share a pack of cookies at least once a week and the Marry Me Chicken Pasta ready meal beats any home-cooked dinner we attempt at home.
We came for the food, now we’re staying for the clothes. The idea that M&S is reserved for the sensible basics – and is the kind of place your teacher would go shopping – has officially been shaken off. In September 2025, the retailer reported its highest-ever style ranking among women aged 18 to 34, according to YouGov BrandIndex.
This summer, the company staged its first runway show in Ibiza and debuted at London Fashion Week to mark 100 years of M&S fashion, presenting 59 looks styled by fashion icons like Karen Elson. Its August limited edition collaboration with British label Aries noticeably played into the younger generations with cropped cardigans, tops and oversized sweatshirts. Its coats and jackets are filling my For You Page and they’re up to date on the newest trends. On my most wanted list right now is the collared peplum jacket, £68, and I’m obsessed with my new checked barn jacket, £90,
Part of the appeal is that the clothes often look considerably more expensive than they are; ideal for a cash-strapped generation obsessed with designer labels, but without the money to afford them. M&S’s reputation for quality was already there and now TikTok has drawn a new age group in.
Then there’s the thrill of the hunt. Many M&S products sell out as soon as they drop, leaving obsessives like me hanging on for a restock, or doing what I never do: shopping in store. I’ve become a regular in my two local M&S’s, scouring the racks.
I never imagined I’d be doing this for a high-street shop I once associated with school uniforms – but M&S has got me exactly where it wants me.