Consumer trust has fallen at Marks & Spencer after the recent cyber-attack, according to new research.

The retail giant confirmed on 22 April that it faced a “cyber incident”, which left customers across the UK unable to use contactless payments or click-and-collect services over the Bank holiday weekend.

The study, conducted by Maru, showed that snapshot polling of 500 revealed there was a 14% drop in the number of consumers who would recommend M&S to others, falling to 73% from 87% pre-attack.

According to the platform, this decline highlights the impact the data breach has had on consumer trust.

The data also showed there was a 7% dip in those who would give the supermarket chain the benefit of the doubt in the event of ongoing product/service issues.

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However, Maru reported that those willing to trust the retailer only dropped slightly from 84% to 82%, suggesting that “underlying trust among a wider base of customers remains recoverable”.

It also reported that between 25% and 32% of consumers said they would now shop elsewhere.

Stephen Brockway, Maru’s chief research officer, said: “This research highlights how vulnerable even long-established and trusted brands are to the ripple effects of a cyber security incident. The drop in brand advocacy, trust and willingness to shop elsewhere reflects a short-term loss in confidence for Marks & Spencer.”

“However, the relatively stable broader trust metrics suggest that with transparent communication and decisive action, M&S has enough corporate reputational ‘credit in the bank’ to weather the storm in the long run. M&S is here to stay, but sales figures are likely to show a big hole during the impacted period as some online shoppers migrate elsewhere.”

He added: “The coming weeks will be critical in determining whether this impact is fleeting or more lasting in nature.”

M&S has been approached for comment.