M&S: Analyzing Social Media Advertising's Influence on Consumers

This report investigates the impact of social media advertising on consumer perception, focusing on Marks and Spencer (M&S), a major UK retailer. The research aims to understand the influence of social media marketing on consumer behavior in the retail industry, particularly in the context of the shift from physical stores to digital retailing, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report includes an analysis of the business environment using PESTLE and SWOT frameworks to identify key challenges and opportunities for M&S in leveraging social media advertising. It critically evaluates the impact of social media on consumer perception and buying behavior, drawing from current literature and debates. The report concludes with recommendations for M&S to effectively utilize social media marketing to attract and retain consumers in the competitive retail landscape. Finally, the report includes a reflection section which details the skills developed during the delivery of the project.

Business research

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Part 1: Analysis of the business environment..................................................................................5
An overview of the organisation / Business context at Marks and Spencer................................5
Analysis of the external environment (PESTLE)........................................................................5
Analysis of the internal environment (SWOT analysis)..............................................................7
Part 2: Critical analysis of the identified business problem............................................................9
Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................14
Part 3: Reflection on Academic and Professional competency skills............................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20

INTRODUCTION
Social media advertising is defined as the process of promoting products on social media
platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This is an important topic for research because it helps
determine the digital marketing influence on consumer behaviour, which is a new phenomenon.
Digital marketing has recently been adopted by businesses across industries, specifically the
retail sector, to influence consumer behaviour and attain higher profitability (Bly, 2018). It is
important for businesses specifically in the retail industry to adopt digital marketing practices
such as social media advertising to attract consumers and remain competitive in the industry.
This investigation is centred on the concept of social media marketing. This research highlights
the usage and effectiveness of social media marketing for the profit of the company. The current
literature available on the topic of social media advertising primarily focuses on the key metrics
associated with social media advertising and how it can be implemented by small businesses and
multinational corporations to attain profitability.
However, there is still no research conducted on the impact caused by social media
advertising and marketing on consumers and their behaviour in context of specific industry. This
introduces a specific research gap in present investigation as it is important to determine how
social media advertising affects consumers. This answers can help businesses adopt suitable
social media practices according to their industry to influence consumer positively and gain
competitive advantage. It is an important research topic because it helps businesses further
advance their digital marketing practices. This research focuses on the retail industry,
specifically on Marks and Spencer, which is a company based in United Kingdom.
Marks and Spencer is one of the largest retailers in United Kingdom and has many outlets
across the world. Marks and Spencer has a huge history in United Kingdom retail industry and is
considered a quality retailer with renowned public image around the world (ABOUT US, 2022).
In context of the present investigation, the research focuses on understanding how social media,
marketing and advertising can help Marks and Spencer influence consumers and its impact on
consumers. This is an important area to be covered in a research as it helps the company
understand the ways their social media image and tools are helping them attract competitors and
rise above computers in the constantly changing retail industry.
Social media marketing is significant in bringing high volume of consumers in the retail
industry. The change influencing the retail industry is the shift of consumers from physical retail

stores to digital retailing, as consumers are becoming more aware of digital options, which can
be used to purchase their retail products (Kostelijk and Alsem, 2020). Another important area
which will be a part of this investigation is the relation of COVID-19 and social media
marketing. One of the most important aspects of social media marketing in the retail industry in
the recent years is that social media marketing has seen rise in popularity after the impact of
COVID-19 as more consumers are shifting towards digital retail than ever. In the current
environment, social media marketing has become an important asset of retail businesses to attract
consumers. Businesses who have failed to adopt digital marketing strategies such as social media
advertising have been unable to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
The current retail industry in the United Kingdom is crowded with various digital retail
brands such as Amazon, who have been able to attract large number of consumers from
traditional retailers such as Marks and Spencer. Primary method of improving digital sales is to
utilize social media advertising (Hastings and Domegan, 2017). This showcases the importance
of this research topic as social media advertising is crucial for remaining competitive in the
current retail industry. In addition to this, social media marketing is also essential for businesses
in the retail industry, as it helps them survive from continuously changing external environment
and make way for a more digitized future.
Another reason for completing this research is personal interest in social media marketing
and digital advertising. The completion of this research will offer knowledge related to social
media advertising in context of the retail industry, which will help improve marketing practices
to enhance consumer retention. Social media marketing is not only essential for attracting
consumers but also supports improvement in consumer loyalty (Deiss and Henneberry, 2020).
This knowledge will support personal and professional development because of the interest in
the area of social media, advertising and marketing. The objectives of this investigation are to
understand the meaning of social media advertising and assess the impact of social media
advertising on consumer perception. In addition to this, another objective of this investigation is
to evaluate the relation between social media advertising on consumer buying behaviour. These
objectives will help attain the research aim as they cover the concept of social media marketing
while focusing on the retail industry and its impact on consumer behaviour.
This investigation includes an environmental analysis by utilizing appropriate tools in
order to understand the internal as well as external environment of Marks and Spencer. This

analysis is used to understand the main problems impacting Marks and Spencer in context of
social media advertising. The problems identified in the environmental analysis section are
further critically evaluated. This involves completing a relevant debate on the topic of social
media advertising in context of the retail industry, as well as synthesizing material and
arguments for different sources to accomplish the research objectives. The critical analysis
section of this report focuses on understanding the impact of social media advertising on
consumer behaviour by looking at relevant register and analysing current debate on the topic.
After this, recommendation and conclusion section is also prepared, which concludes the main
points argued in the investigation and provides recommendations to Marks and Spencer through
which the company can effectively utilize social media marketing to attract large number of
consumers. After this inappropriate reflection section is provided in this report on skills
developed during delivery of the project.
Part 1: Analysis of the business environment
An overview of the organisation / Business context at Marks and Spencer
M&S (Marks and Spencer) is a well-known British retailer that sells food, clothing, and a variety
of home goods. The upwards of a century-old chain, which was originally established in 1884,
has lengthy been a trusted brand in the United Kingdom.
Research aim - To analyse the impact of social media advertising on customer perception.
A case study of Marks and Spencer
Research objectives -
To understand meaning of social media advertising
To assess range of social media advertising on customer perception
To evaluate relation between social media advertising on consumer buying behaviour
Analysis of the external environment (PESTLE)
 Political - A number of nations have founded trade treaties, which is one of the most
positive aspects of modern elections. This benefits Marks and Spencer, which is primarily
located in the UK but also works in other countries. M&S can import foreign items for
sale in their retail locations at reduced costs through cheap labour, while still maintaining
a healthy profit margin. Many trade deals with European resellers may be lost if the UK

leaves the European Union in this "Brexit," resulting in higher product costs for the final
consumers.
 Economical - Price has always been an important concern in the retail industry, but in the
past decades, emergence of discount retailers in the United Kingdom has affected pricing
strategy of retail businesses. This includes retailers such as Ocado, Asda and Aldi. In
order to encourage guests to experience similar products at much reduced premiums,
these competitors are stealing price competition from more expensive products (like
Marks and Spencer). In fact, it's likely that these discount competitors affected Marks and
Spencer's decision to use importers in 1999.
 Technological – Marks and Spencer do indeed have a large following, with each of their
own brands, from clothing to foods to household goods, accessible on the platform. M&S
takes a traditional approach to buying stuff with their own clothing, supplying products
directly to the consumer. Nonetheless, unlike the other large food stores in the UK,
Marks and Spencer does not appear to deliver the food. This industry-wide trend aims to
save retailers money on store clerks while also providing consumers a faster shopping
experience. Social media advertising provides consumers faster shopping experience by
enabling them to reach online channels (Farris and et. al., 2017). Like most other UK
supermarkets, Marks and Spencer has indeed installed self-scan structures in its shops.
 Social - Throughout the last decade, the use of convenience foods has grown
tremendously in societal structure. This could be due to the fact that, thanks to
advancements in functional foods, processed foods are more appealing than ever. Inside
any case, this large new manufacturing can benefit immensely any grocery store. While
the amount of sales growth at M&s is unknown, it is one of the top ten lunch
manufacturers there in UK.
 Legal - there are different legal rules and regulations which a company in retail industry
has to follow without any exception. Similarly, M&S has to adopt different excise
taxation laws, labour laws, inflation cost, important export restrictions so that it can easily
and smoothly run its operations. This company has the ability to take labour from Asian
countries as there is availability of cheap labour.
 Environmental – Fair trade, which again was created to better reimburse landowners, has
a negative effect on the natural. It’s because local producers, who profit so much from a

good bargain, are now more likely than their competing firms to use environmentally
sustainable business practises. As an outcome, Marks and Spencer's move to close goods
is environmentally friendly. Environmental factors influencing meat, attire, and home
furnishings purchases. Plenty other UK retailers it has made positive pledges, so Marks
and Spencer's judgement to become a more commercially sustainable seller is not
unexpected.
Analysis of the internal environment (SWOT analysis)
Weakness - Many people think Marks and Spencer is unwilling to engage in children. The firm
is not notably trendy and caters to the elderly. As an outcome of this perspective, M&s has had
quite a lot of issues. While this assumption may have been harsh, it is true that such a huge
percentage of Marks and Spencer's customers are seniors. Click and collect, which is famous
among several other retailers, is less popular among M&S customers, according to some
forecasting models, since many of friends are closer to retirement and less intrigued in the
choice.
Strength - The great quality of Marks and Spencer's products is well-known. It's a greater store
with several of the best in-store purchasing in the UK. In a multitude of European, Middle
Eastern, and Asian regions, Marks and Spencer has retail locations and also an online presence.
It has more than 1500 locations worldwide. M&S own-brand garment and housewares can be
found in many entire store locations, channels, and on the M&S.com homepage.
Threat - Marks and Spencer faces stiff competition both domestically and internationally. Marks
and Spencer's main competitors include Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Next, Gap,
Sports Direct, Debenhams, John Lewis, and Amazon. Marks and Spencer are in danger of losing
customer base due to fierce competition. Due to increased competition and some other factors, it
is scaling back its global operations. In fact, it has already left China and closed several stores in
France and the United Kingdom.
Possibilities/Opportunities - Marks and Spencer maintains a website. It does, however, lag
some of the other major UK retail chains. It really should seize some good potential online
growth prospects. In fact, in order to transition to the future, it recently declared its intent to
transfer a large portion of its clothing online stores.

Part 2: Critical analysis of the identified business problem
Consumer perceptions of brands, as well as how responses are communicated, are all part of the
brand experience. Some brand experiences are conceptualised around feelings, emotions,
sensations, and behaviours, while others are conceptualised around feelings, emotions,
sensations, and behaviours. Brand-related stimuli have become an important part of the brand
information transfer process. Targeted customer comments in response to brand images can
result in feelings, thoughts, or behaviours that are unique to each brand, guess it depends on the
type of product or service. The associations formed as a result of responding to brand cued shape
not only brand recognition but also increased brand. When applying marketing programs to
widely consumer interactions, brand equity is becoming a part of the process. The introduction of
some ways in which information about a product line can influence customer way of responding
to marketing methods can be defined as brand equity. A positive response from
consumers/customers is the ultimate goal of branding. Companies do this by commercialising
products to the customers and emphasising distinguishing features. While businesses see
Facebook as a way to raise brand awareness and attract customers, not all of the reactions to
social media advertising are positive. While brand-related content is being introduced to the
Facebook platform at an increasing rate, social media-based advertising is sometimes seen as an
unwanted element, and businesses must be aware of how consumers react to their ad campaigns
can affect the value of that brand-related content. Companies must recognise that the process of
incorporating branding and logo content in social media necessitates a close examination of the
substance and a focus on manufacturer community building, according to researchers.
Potential customers can be found on every social media platform. Some, on the other hand, are
more conducive to sales than others. Facebook and Instagram, according to Statista, are two of
the best places to learn about, discover, and buy fashion apparel. Because Facebook (now Meta)
owns Instagram, creating an effective ad campaign for both platforms from the Facebook Ads
Manager isn't difficult. Facebook has over 48 million users in the United Kingdom.
Approximately four out of ten Facebook users claim to find fashion inspiration on the site. To
put it another way, the opportunity to engage a new audience and build brand loyalty on
Facebook's platform is too great to pass up. It's also worth noting that Facebook claims its

platform is a key place to reach 18-34-year-old fashion buyers. Influencers and celebrities on the
platform, in particular, are said to be a source of fashion inspiration for women.
There are several benefits for Marks and Spencer while engaging in social media advertising. It
boosts brand recognition and trustworthiness. The best platform for showcasing their fashion
studio is social media, which also serves as the best medium for brand recognition. By
showcasing all of their designer collections on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram,
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest, Marks and Spencer can raise brand awareness and grow their
following. Businesses can raise awareness by hosting photo fashion shows and events on the
social media platforms mentioned. Fashion brands on social media can assist fashion-conscious
people in obtaining fashion trend information.
It boosts customer loyalty and engagement - Because people spend so much time on social
media, attracting new customers via social media is not difficult. Three factors make any visitor
a loyal customer: content, quality, and regular posts related to the fashion industry. Marks and
Spencer can increase customer engagement by showcasing various designer collections and
offering exclusive offers and deals.
Social media has an influence on the purchase decisions - The lots of folks are only aware of
designing trends and latest fashions through social media. It works as a word-of-mouth system,
allowing any topic to spread in minutes at a time. Likes, shares, comments, and other factors on
their main pages will influence and have a significant effect on consumers' choices.
Retargeting and demographic targeting - It is one of the most important reasons why social
media can help a company succeed. Millennia is the fashion industry's target customer, and
social media is a customised platform that allows retailers to target audiences based on
demographics such as gender, age, location, hashtags, and more. Furthermore, tracking user
behaviour patterns online is very simple. Visitors can target specific and the right audience and
market their business using these signals. Fashion brands can also use retargeting to remarket
their collections.
Instagram has the highest conversion rates because it is a visual platform that is ideal for
showcasing the most recent fashions and collections. The use of appropriate hashtags, high-
quality images, and attention-getting content works well. Pinterest, like Instagram, is a highly
visual medium where people can discover the latest fashions and trends. Plan ahead of time to
pin their collections with the appropriate hashtags to increase the number of people who see their

brand. These marketing innovations needed to be released at the appropriate time. Marketing
departments had to re-evaluate their previous plans in order to adapt to this shift there in media
landscape. The industry is evolving and testing a new presidential campaign model as a result of
these changes. As a result of an increased focus on global technology and the ubiquitous use of
advertising, publicity, and promotion, companies' consumer focus has shifted (Quelch & Jocz,
2008).
It has a low to non-existent overhead cost - In this digital age, there is no need for large
investments. Creating and implementing effective social media campaigns and strategies can be
done for free or at a low cost. Fashion retailers can benefit from the availability of analytics to
help them with their spending habits. It teaches them how to spend their budget wisely and avoid
losing money. As a result, they have a low to zero overhead cost and double their revenue.
It's a powerful marketing tool - Social media low price as a marketing tool for the fashion and
apparel industry, and if Marks and Spencer want to increase traffic, loyalty, provide better
customer service, or bring more customers. With the help of social media, Marks and Spencer
can more efficiently expedite their process flow and marketing strategy.
It boosts conversion rates - The main benefit of social media marketing is that it helps Marks and
Spencer to get into the sales funnel faster. Fashion trends can boost conversion rates via
Facebook marketing, which includes Facebook ads that allow you to target a custom or lookalike
audience based on your preferences. Facebook retargeting campaigns can also help company to
grow profit and sales.
The perception of advertisements is crucial to Marks and Spencer’s success. Prior research has
attempted to determine the antecedents of consumers' perceptions of online advertising, and it
has been discovered that a rise in consumer perception is linked to a rise in online advertising
(Nasir et al., 2021). This indicated that consumer perception and online advertising had a strong
and positive relationship. Furthermore, it was discovered that all sub-dimensions of consumer
perception positively and significantly influenced online advertising and its dimensions (Haur et
al., 2017). Advertising is essentially a persuasion art. To create an effective ad on social media,
you must first understand the factors of an ad that can successfully persuade a user.
To summarise, Marks and Spencer should use and make social media marketing a celebrity
endorser for their fashion industry and use social media networks to effectively present their
fashion trends and designer archival to millions. Although creative features can attract a user's

attention, they do not always result in purchase intent. With the rise in people shopping online in
recent years, more people are aware of the vast array of products and services available. With
fierce competition between brands, a product's quality of features and range improves. This
could lead to a user prioritising product price, relationship with the product, quality, and other
product-specific information over the ad's creative qualities. Ads may be creative and engaging
in and of themselves, but if the creativity lacks meaning that benefits the product as well, the
creative efforts may be in vain. Ad creativity has the potential to divert attention away from the
product itself. The findings of this study contradict previous research (Reinartz & Saffert, 2013),
which claims that creative messages gain more exposure and contribute to positive attitudes
toward the featured items. In their experimental research, Smith et al. (2007) discovered that
creativity increased motivation to process the ad, improved attitude toward the ad, and that this
positive impact was transferred to the brand.
By generating consumer interactions, social networking sites like Facebook have provided a new
way of introducing brand-related content and creating exchanges with consumers. The value of
this approach is based on the changing nature of how people use the Internet and how social
venues are evolving. Pornography was the most popular online activity a decade ago, but that has
since shifted to social networking. As a result, approximately 93 percent of businesses use social
media for marketing and branding.
Consumer expectations are based on both brand correlations and branding strategies, and brand
denoting extends from social conventions related to the brand (Campelo, et al., 2014). One of the
most important aspects of how brand image shapes the focus of marketing is the human aspect of
branding. The messages used in marketing strategy become the defence that consumers use to
evaluate their buying decision, whether they are looking at Nike products or electric vehicles.
Branding is often influenced by social perceptions, such as the value that organization places on
the brand, and social pressures, such as the subtle messages that many others place on brand
ownership. The link between the corporate identity and promotion was expressed in pioneering
study on lengthy ways of understanding branding (Keller, 1993). A brand is defined as "a name,
term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify and differentiate the
commodities of one identify the goods and services from those of competitors. Special brands
can have a variety of different trademarks, all of which are linked by central brand personality.
Consumers frequently evaluate brands, compare similar brands, and purchase products based on

brand associations. The internet and e-technologies are now essential components in branding
due to a shift in the format through which people participate with products and product brands.
Consumers are now encouraged to engage with brands, exchange information with others, and
create content that reflects their buying habits. The more consumers who participate in this
process, the more probable they are to recommend specific brands to others. It's critical to
recognise businesses' perspectives on marketing and advertising processes, their urge to create
engagement with customers, and the effects of social networks on effecting customers’ decision
in order to comprehend the role of social networks in branding.
Marks and Spencer has introduced various changes in the way it manages its digital marketing
tactics because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been done to target both young consumers
as well as older consumers who have less experience with digital technology and social media.
One of the primary initiatives Marks and Spencer has taken in order to increase consumers
during the pandemic and after the pandemic is investing in influencer marketing. Marks and
Spencer has been known as reliable brand of clothing products and beauty products. These
products are affected by influencer marketing. Social media marketing trends impact the
consumer behaviour in context of clothing, beauty and lifestyle items. M&S has collaborated
with influencers to enhance online sales (M&S Shuns TV Ads In Favour Of Influencer
Marketing, 2020). The decision taken by Marks and Spencer to invest in influential marketing as
a social media advertising strategy is genius because it helps the company attract young
consumers. In addition to this the company is able to influence social media trends so that their
clothing lines and home ware range provide higher sales. The disadvantage associated with
investing in influencing marketing is that it requires high cost and changes in popularity of the
influencer can also affect the impact of the advertising campaign. This strategy for social media
advertising has been adopted by Marks and Spencer because the consumer likes social media
advertising through influencers. Consumers are deeply impacted when it comes to social media
advertisement through an influencer in comparison to generic advertisements.
Marks and Spencer has also invested in digitization its loyalty card, which is called sparks. The
company utilizes the loyalty scheme to attract older consumers so that they are retained. Loyalty
cards also help the company reduce any negative impact of the increasing digitization of Marks
and Spencer on older consumers. Recently, the company has also invested in re launching sparks
as a digital first loyalty scheme so that it can also be used to attract and retain digital consumers