Topshop owner-backed live shopping platform expands into the UK

A live shopping platform backed by the owner of Topshop has announced plans to expand into the UK.

Sprii, which currently works with around 100 UK retailers, says over half of its marketing budget is now earmarked for Brits. It is also currently in talks with a "number of major retailers" on the British high street for collaboration on the platform.

The move comes after Asos entered into a joint venture with an investment firm owned by Bestseller owner the Holch Povlsen family for its Topshop and Topman brands.

"This investment is being channelled into bespoke campaigns designed for British consumers, emphasising a localised approach that will resonate with the distinct shopping habits of UK audiences," Corey Morris, chief marketing officer of Sprii, said. "We believe this emerging technology will reshape the retail landscape, boosting sales and driving deeper engagement," he added.

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Live shopping has taken retail by storm in the last few years, with the launch of Tiktok shop and Youtube shop both finding a firm footing with Gen Z a survey by Fiverr found that this Christmas over half of gen z plan to buy gifts on Tiktok shop.

It is set to account for 20 per cent of all global e-commerce by 2026, mainly due to demand from China.

Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, a major shareholder in Sprii, recently made another big push into retail when his company Bestseller group acquired a 75 per cent stake in Topshop through a joint venture with Asos.

Sprii's platform, which enables retailers to host live shopping events on social media across multiple sites, previously primarily operated in Nordic counties.

However, in contrast with something like Toktok shop, Sprii enables retailers to transact directly with customers rather than payments being channelled through an intermediary.

According to Sprii's data, a live shopping customer typically stays watching for 20 minutes, compared with just 54 seconds looking at a static web page.