How Marks & Spencer's community-led approach is winning over LIVE shopping audiences

The Original Challenge

In 2021, M&S, a leading British retailer of clothing, home ware and food, launched its first live shopping events in partnership with LiSA. These initial events targeted members of its loyalty program, aiming to let customers discover new products in an interactive format and ask questions to M&S experts. However, the retailer needed a way to scale these activities while maintaining authenticity and engagement.

How LiSA Solves the Problem

With LiSA's live shopping platform, M&S transformed its social commerce strategy. Today, the retailer hosts multiple interactive and shoppable livestreams every week, enabling customers to discover products, interact with hosts, and make purchases in real-time. The recordings then continue to drive engagement and sales.

Key to this success is M&S's decision to embrace a community-driven content approach:

• Most live shows are hosted by in-house buyers, stylists or store associates.
• This community-led model ensures that content is not only authentic, but also quick and easy to produce, making it easier to scale the program.

Key Success Factors

What sets M&S apart is its commitment to leveraging its internal community:

• Authenticity: Shows hosted by in-house experts resonate strongly with customers, creating a sense of trust and relatability.
• Scalability: The ease of producing community-driven content allows M&S to scale its live shopping activities quickly.
• Always-On Presence: By adopting an "always-on" mindset, M&S provides a consistent stream of interactive shopping experiences, blending discovery and entertainment seamlessly.