This isn’t just any gas & electricity; this is M&S gas & electricity

Marks & Spencer announced today (15 Oct) its partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy to launch its new offering- M&S Energy. Customers can sign up in store and online through www.mandsenergy.com which goes live on the 27th of October. M&S plans to reward their customers by offering them M&S vouchers when they sign up, reduce their energy usage or opt for paperless billing. It is relying on its strong brand name to attract customers. However, since M&S is regarded more as an upmarket brand, it is unlikely that people will switch to M&S initially since it will naturally be perceived to be more expensive than its competitors.

Offering vouchers rather than a discount on the bill itself is an interesting way of making people sign up and shop at M&S since shopping at M&S is the only way to redeem the vouchers. This would lead to a rise in sales for M&S, who has seen its sales drop-M&S style, and would ensure that the money stays within the organisation. This is because if you get a £10 voucher, M&S is not actually spending the £10, but the voucher is worth £10 that can only be spent at M&S. This is different to it giving you £10 discount on your bill that it does have to spend and since you are free to spend it anywhere you choose, M&S might not benefit from it. It will be interesting to see if other stores, like Britain’s Biggest Discounter, Tesco, will join M&S to offer gas & electricity to its customers.

Further reading:
M&S Corporate Website: http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press_releases/company/pressrelease_mandsenergy

M&S Sales:
http://business-easy.blogspot.com/2008/10/m-weather-forecast-bleak-in-britain.html

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