Marks & Spencer has relaunched its Sparks loyalty program with a fundamental shift in strategy: real money rewards deposited into a digital wallet, AI-powered personalisation, and a new partnership ecosystem anchored by Virgin Red. The announcement, made on 15 April 2026, represents the most significant overhaul of Sparks since M&S moved the program to a digital-first model in 2020.

The message from CEO Stuart Machin is direct: customers asked for Sparks to be simpler, more rewarding and more personalised. The new program is M&S’s answer.

From Personalised Perks to a Cashback Wallet

The original Sparks program was unusual in the UK grocery and general merchandise landscape. Rather than adopting the points-based currency framework used by competitors like Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar, Sparks offered personalised treats, surprise rewards and charitable donations. It was distinctive, but customers made their preferences clear: they wanted tangible, monetary value. Loyalty & Reward Co discussions with members identified the offers provided didn’t really feel personalised and the program overall wasn’t resonating.

The transformed Sparks places a digital wallet at its centre. Members earn real pound rewards deposited directly into their Sparks wallet, which can be spent across any part of M&S, from Food and Fashion to Home and Beauty. Members choose when and how to spend, whether that means saving for Christmas, reducing the weekly grocery bill, or treating themselves.

This shift towards cashback-style rewards delivered via a digital wallet reflects a broader industry trend of delivering immediate, transparent value. When a member sees £10 earned after spending £50 on fashion, the value proposition is instantly clear.

How the New Earn Mechanics Work

M&S has built the earn structure around three personalised mechanics:

• Spend and earn rewards members for shopping in the categories they already love. Examples include earning £10 when spending £50 on Fashion, Home and Beauty, or £5 when spending £35 in the Foodhall. The thresholds and rewards are tailored to individual shopping behaviour.

• Buy and bundle incentivises complementary purchases. For instance, buying a bra and knickers together earns £5 into the wallet. This mechanic is designed to encourage larger basket sizes while feeling natural to the shopping occasion.

• Try something new rewards members for exploring categories they do not usually shop. Spending £30 on bedding, for example, earns £6 for a member who typically shops only in Food. This is designe dto stimulate cross-category engagement, helping to increase share of wallet across M&S’s diverse product range.

All three mechanics feed directly into the digital Sparks wallet, reinforcing the simplicity of the new model.

AI and Data: The Engine Behind Personalisation

The technology underpinning the new Sparks is where M&S signals its longer-term ambitions. M&S will deploy a suite of AI and machine learning capabilities to power the program. Machine learning models drive the personalised offers available at launch, with advanced generative AI models planned for the near future.

The new Sparks hub within the M&S app surfaces offers based on two data sources: preferences the member has explicitly shared (such as dietary choices) and behavioural data drawn from their shopping history. The result is that every time a member opens the app, the offers and earn opportunities they see are relevant to them, not generic promotions pushed to the entire base.

This approach aligns with the evolution from segmentation to hyper-personalisation that is reshaping loyalty globally. The more a member shops with Sparks, the more refined and valuable their experience becomes.

Virgin Red Partnership: Building an Earn Ecosystem

M&S has also announced its first-ever Sparks partner, Virgin Red, marking a strategic move into partnership-based loyalty. Members can now earn Sparks wallet rewards across the Virgin ecosystem, including Virgin Atlantic Holidays (up to £130 reward), Virgin Media (£80 reward for switching), Virgin Voyages (£8 for every £100 spent) and Virgin Experience Days (£4 for every £20 spent).

This is a significant development. By extending earn opportunities beyond M&S’s own stores, the program moves closer to the coalition model that underpins some of the world’s most commercially successful loyalty programs. The partnership allows members to grow their wallet balance through everyday activities such as booking holidays or switching broadband providers, which is intended to make the Sparks wallet feel more valuable while accelerating the path to meaningful rewards.

The choice of Virgin as the launch partner is strategically sound. The Virgin brand has strong consumer recognition and spans travel, entertainment and telecommunications; all categories that complement M&S’s core retail offering without competing with it.

Keeping What Works: Birthday Treats, Coffee Stamps and Charity

M&S has been thoughtful about which existing Sparks features to retain. Free birthday treats (over one million given out in the past year), the coffee stamp card (buy six, get one free), The Parent Hood baby club (over 350,000 members and growing fast), charitable donations (£20 million donated to date across 37 charities) and preferential travel money rates all remain.

Retaining popular program benefits while overhauling the core value proposition is a delicate exercise in loyalty program change management. Remove too much and you alienate loyal members. Change too little and the relaunch feels cosmetic. M&S appears to have struck a sensible balance by adding a generous new financial incentive layer on top of the emotional and experiential elements that members already value.

Credit Card Integration: Supercharging Rewards

M&S Credit Card holders can connect their card to Sparks to unlock additional benefits, including exclusive earn offers, an annual Fashion, Home and Beauty discount on their card anniversary, and a choice of top birthday treats. New credit card applicants who sign up via the M&S app or website are connected to Sparks automatically.

This card-linking strategy aims to deepens the financial integration between M&S’s banking and retail operations and creates a compelling reason for members to consolidate spend on the M&S Credit Card.

Colleague-Led Beta Testing

One detail worth noting is M&S’s approach to testing. Every one of M&S’s 65,000 colleagues was given the opportunity to beta test the new Sparks for several weeks before the public launch. This appraoch has likely worked to build internal advocacy, surface real-world issues at scale, and ensure that store colleagues can confidently explain the new program to customers from day one. It mirrors the approach M&S took when it relaunched Sparks as a digital-first program in 2020, when over 40,000 employees road-tested the changes.

What This Means for the UK Loyalty Landscape

The transformed Sparks positions M&S more competitively against the growing number of UK retailers offering member pricing and cashback mechanics. By combining a transparent cashback wallet with AI personalisation and a partnership ecosystem, M&S has built a program that is both commercially rigorous and consumer-friendly.

For loyalty practitioners, there are several takeaways worth highlighting:

• Transparency wins. The shift from abstract perks to visible pound rewards reflects growing consumer demand for clarity. Programs that make value easy to understand tend to drive higher engagement.

• Personalisation is now table stakes. AI-powered offer engines are no longer a differentiator reserved for the largest programs. They are becoming the baseline expectation for any program seeking to remain relevant.

• Partnerships extend the value equation. A single-brand loyalty program can only reward members for so many occasions. Strategic partnerships expand the earning ecosystem and give members more reasons to stay engaged between core shopping trips.

• Retain what members love. Not everything needs to change. The birthday treats, coffee stamps and charity donations cost relatively little but generate outsized goodwill and emotional connection.

M&S has signalled that today’s launch is just the first stage, with more features and capabilities planned. For a brand that has invested heavily in digital transformation, a stronger Sparks is both a growth lever and a data asset that will compound in value over time.

Loyalty & Reward Co design, implement and operate loyalty programs for global brands. If you are considering a loyalty program transformation or exploring how AI and personalisation can strengthen your program, get in touch with our team of loyalty consultants.