Marks & Spencer has had to make critical decisions as it undergoes a massive digital transformation across its business. In order to extend its stellar in-store reputation to its digital channels, Alex Williams and his team set ambitious personalization goals for the next three years that would ensure incredible service and individualized experiences across all customer touch points.

Marks & Spencer already had a robust loyalty program in place that was rich with customer data. However, Alex realized that the retailer needed more granular data science insights to overcome the challenge of communicating with customers in the context of deep personal digital experiences. The retailer enlisted Generative AI technology from Persado to uncover what motivates each customer and to inform messaging that speaks to customers using emotions and narratives that resonate with them individually and at scale.

Alex and his team oversaw the implementation of the Motivation AI platform, creating hero campaign copy, static website copy and email campaign subject lines that drive greater customer engagement, increase customer loyalty and grow incremental orders. By running the equivalent of 500 multivariate messaging experiments in just a few seconds, the AI technology empowered Marks & Spencer to discover not only what kind of messaging works but also why it works.

Through language optimization, Marks & Spencer saw an average conversion rate lift of up to 20% through email between June and December 2021. That number went as high as 34% in December 2021 as the AI built up its knowledge base of customer insights. Alex has led the team personalizing the customer experience across the retailer’s ecommerce site, app and customer relationship management program. As a result, approximately 8% of ecommerce sales are now being driven by personalization.