SHOP, WATCH & BUY: M&S LAUNCHES ‘M&S LIVE’ LIVE SHOPPING SERIES ON M&S DOT COM

• New service allows customers browsing M&S.com to join a live broadcast to hear more about a product range and pose live questions to an M&S expert.
• Each live episode is completely shoppable, meaning customers can buy the products as they watch.

M&S is today (Friday 28^th January) announcing the launch of Live Shopping on M&S.com, offering customers a new way to find inspiration and shop with the retailer and tapping into a growing trend that's expected to account for 10-20% of global e-commerce by 2026**.

The service, facilitated by M&S software partner LiSA, allows any of the 13.5 million customers that visit M&S.com each week to join a live broadcast hosted by an M&S expert where they can hear more about the ranges they're browsing, ask questions through the live chat function, view product demonstrations, and most importantly, buy the products as they watch.

Given consumers' increased focus on health & wellness in January, the series is kicking off with a heavy focus on M&S's leading activewear brand Goodmove - and following three successful trial events, the first broadcast (Lingerie, Womens & Kids Activewear with Rosie Underwood & Soozie Jenkinson) will take place on Fri 28 Jan at 12.30. Full schedule here.

A seamless shopping experience

Live Shopping is the latest example of M&S investing to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience however, wherever and whenever they choose to shop, and follows a wave of other initiatives implemented over the last 18 months.

This includes the launch of M&S's new digital Click & Collect format, which has cut waiting times and already helped customers process 70k self-service returns in-store, and the introduction of online video consultations for customers browsing furniture, menswear & lingerie on M&S.com - which has facilitated 28,000 1-1 consultations in just 9 months. That's equivalent to one call every 14 minutes!

Combining digital technology with the renowned customer service M&S is famous for, Live Shopping serves to not only address customer queries but provide exciting style inspiration too - something M&S knows its customers want (the three trial events received really positive customer feedback*** and had an average dwell time of over 75%).

Tapping into a growing trend

With Live Shopping a growing trend around the world (worth $170bn in China and projected to be worth $25bn in USA by 2023*), today's announcement is the latest example of M&S embracing new opportunities in retail to be more relevant, more often for customers.

In addition to the commercial benefits it will bring, Live Shopping offers up a new channel of communication with customers - giving M&S the opportunity to drive brand awareness and style perceptions, and gather valuable customer feedback.

More widely, M&S is continuing with its push to further develop the capabilities of M&S.com, with recent initiatives including the introduction of user generated content and a 'shop the look button'.

Stephen Langford, Director of M&S.com, said:"Live Shopping on M&S.com is the latest in a wave of new initiatives we've introduced to improve our customer experience. It's a global trend that responds to how customers are using social media - we all know how much more we're scrolling and engaging with video content - at home, or on the go. Live shopping puts our experts front and centre and gives them the ideal platform to share the M&S point of difference - in terms of both quality, design and innovation features."

Sophie Freres, CEO at LiSA, said: "The LiSA team could not be more excited to partner with M&S to bring exciting and interactive live shopping experiences to M&S customers. M&S plays a critical role not only in inspiring, but in educating and helping its customers discover those products best suited to their needs. Live shopping allows M&S to give more members of its online community more regular access to M&S' unique expertise in so many important matters of daily life, and thanks to the interactivity of the format, customers become true co-creators. At LiSA, we believe the future of e-commerce is community-led, and M&S is doing a marvellous job at embracing that."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

About Live Shopping:

• Live shopping is a growing trend and is already a huge part of how consumers shop in China and the USA - worth $170bn in China and projected to be worth $25bn in USA by 2023*. In China 17% of all online shopping comes via livestreams - a level the rest of the world is expected to reach by 2026**.
• M&S has partnered with leading live-streaming solution provider LiSA to tap into this trend and improve its online customer experience.

*Source: Coresight & LiSA research

**Source: McKinsey research.

***Example customer feedback from the three trial events:

• "It was great to hear about the range and see some pieces I may not have known about. It was also great to get some information on the technical elements of the product, and to be able to shop whilst you were discussing is great too."
• "It was great to see the product brought to life."
• "I was interested to see what an M&S live shopping event would be like; I was very impressed, and I'll now have a look at the Womenswear Goodmove range."

How Live Shopping at M&S works:

• The Live Shopping broadcasts take place at set times, with customers able to tune in and interact with the live platform as the broadcast takes place.
• Each broadcast is made available to watch back after the event via the Inspire Mesection of the website.
• Customers are able to ask questions and buy the products featured as they watch the broadcast.
• Each broadcast is focused on a key topics & products (January's focus is Goodmove) and presented by an M&S expert and external influencer. Each event lasts up to 30mins.

About Digital Shopping at M&S:

• Over the last 18 months M&S has invested significantly in response to the growing customer appetite for digital, seamless shopping. This is reflected in the following stats:
  • Digital Click & Collect: M&S's new digital Click & Collect format in-store has helped customers process more than 70k self-service returns since the retailer began rolling out the new proposition in July.
  • Online video consultations: M&S has facilitated 28,000 1-1 video consultations in just 9 months, that's one call every 14 mins!
  • Sparks: digital-first loyalty scheme now boasts more than 14m members. 1.1m of these engaged with the Sparks Advent Calendar during the first 12 days of December.
  • Sparks Live: more than 50k customers have tuned in to watch M&S's Sparks Live series, spanning cook-alongs to exclusive fashion previews. A further 100k customers have watched episodes back on YouTube.
  • Scan & Shop: M&S's popular mobile shopping service, formerly known as Mobile Pay Go, facilitates more than 60k transactions every week
  • Digital bra-fit: M&S facilitates up to 900 virtual bra-fit appointments every week.

About LiSA:

• LiSA is short for Live & Social Commerce Assistant. As a Germany-based Software-as-a-Service provider, its mission is to help e-retailers transform into cutting-edge social discovery and entertainment destinations for its communities. LiSA's live shopping solutions, for example, range from no-code live shopping channels which can be set up in 24 hours all the way to highly customisable enterprise solutions which enable multi-stream live shopping programs for multibrand e-retailers and marketplaces.
• https://www.hello-lisa.com/