is taking a bold step in the face of a rising "major" trend by installing self-checkouts in an unexpected location – their changing rooms.

The retail giant plans to roll out this innovative feature across its 180 clothing stores, aiming to streamline the shopping experience and make checkouts more efficient.

As reported by the Telegraph, is set to implement this tech in over 100 stores by early 2028, with its flagship store at Fosse Park in Leicester already enjoying the benefits. Once the wider store refurbishments are complete, all clothing outlets will see this new system in place.

Sacha Berendji, M&S's operations director, expressed the company's vision: "We'd like customers to be able to walk straight into the fitting room with no queue, try on what they've chosen, then pay there and just walk out."

He also mentioned that initially, there will be one self-checkout per changing room area, with the possibility of adding more based on customer feedback. Meanwhile, Archie Norman, the chairman of the supermarket, has observed an uptick in thefts, particularly by middle-class shoppers, which he links to malfunctioning self-checkouts.

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Norman pointed out that M&S receives "very little help from the police" in dealing with shoplifting and suggested that middle-class thieves are predominantly responsible.

Mr Norman opened up on LBC's podcast 'Money' with David Buik and Michael Wilson, sharing his insights: "You get the sort of middle class... with the reduction of service you get in a lot of shops, a lot of people go in and think, 'well this didn't scan or it's very difficult to scan these things through and I shop here all the time, it's not my fault, I'm owed it'."

He noted a worrying trend at self-checkouts, saying: "So you see with the self-checkouts... just a bit of that creeping in."

However, Mr Berendji assured that MandS staff would be "hosting" changing rooms to ensure customers paid before leaving.

He added "Shoplifting is a major problem in this country, but there are things that we're all doing to make sure we can mitigate some of those losses. This is all about choice. If you want to be served by a colleague, that's absolutely OK and you always can be.

"But if people want to serve themselves, they can do that instead."

Despite the challenges, Mr Berendji remains optimistic, adding: "Where some companies may be scaling back, maybe they feel they need to offer more choice to customers. But we've never gone down a full self-checkout route apart from in some railway stations."

However, not everyone is convinced by the new strategy. Some customers have taken to to express their concerns, calling it "stupid". Twitter user Peter Ackerley wrote it was the "Height of madness," while another user Vanessa Smith said it was "Asking for trouble."

Lindsey (@Lulubelle1981), a former employee, also chimed in with a critical perspective, tweeting: "I used to work for them, this is not a wise move. The theft is rife as it is, this will only encourage shoplifting. Absolutely stupid."