M&S has announced an expansion to its Insider programme, made up of M&S colleagues – from store assistants and stylists to buyers and designers – who share style inspiration and product finds with their followers. The retailer has added five new Insiders, including a virtual persona named Mira [Marks & Spencer, Influencer, Reality, Augmented] that has been developed using a combination of photography, CGI and computer vision, in collaboration with creative tech agency, Happy Finish. Mira’s content will be managed by M&S’ in-house team.  

There are now a total of 13 M&S Insiders, and they often produce some of M&S’s best performing social content, returning, on average, 30 per cent higher engagement than the retailer’s external influencer programmes.   

Mira will join the Insiders in showcasing M&S’ latest collections, trends and style tips. The introduction of a virtual influencer will enable M&S to experiment by responding to trending conversations at pace and be agile with how and when content is captured. Creating a virtual influencer also gives M&S the opportunity to connect with a younger audience and build a community with a demographic that are interested in this new form of technology.  

“We are excited to welcome Mira – UK retail’s first virtual influencer – to our M&S Insider family,” said Anna Braithwaite, Director of Marketing for Clothing & Home at M&S. “Her introduction is the latest example of how M&S has become bolder in experimenting with emerging technology and trends to inspire our customers – whether that’s our Live Shopping events or our expert online consultation services such as digital bra fit. A virtual influencer means we can be more fleet of foot in live trends/conversations and opens possibilities in both the physical and virtual world in the future. I can’t wait to hear customer feedback and see where we take Mira next.” 

In addition to Mira, four other Insiders are set to join the programme. This includes a Menswear Stylist, two Insiders who will focus on engaging their audiences on M&S’s Kidswear offering; and an Insider focused on Beauty.  

M&S is also launching its first dedicated live shoppable Christmas series on M&S.com today. This  will feature guest presenters covering a different theme each week, including dressing the home for Christmas, great value gifting and a what to wear guide. The show streams live every Thursday at 6pm.