Asos has become the first retailer to launch a weekly podcast as the etailer seeks to find innovative ways to engage with its core customers.

The retailer, which also publishes a monthly print magazine, has partnered with Swedish podcasting platform Acast to produce and edit the show, which focuses on female business owners.

In each of the 13 episodes guests such as Irene Agbontaen, founder of Taller Than Your Average, and Lisa and Tida Finch, founders of jewellery label Finchittida – both Asos sellers – share their success stories and the lessons they learned along the way.

The podcast, presented by the retailer’s team of journalists, is available on iTunes and Acast’s website, which Asos links customers to on its own site. The podcast will feature ads and also push through to brands featured on the Asos website.

‘Inspiring podcast’

Podcasts have enjoyed a revival in the past year, particularly following the success of US hit Serial. In the UK, around 10 million people stream and download podcasts each week, according to Acast.

Lucinda Greasley, managing editor at Asos, said: “By producing and publishing a regular podcast we have discovered another way to reach and engage our 20-something audience. We have taken an original idea from the Asos magazine, and re-imagined it for this new format.

Karl Rosander, founder of Acast, said: “An international and instantly recognisable brand such as Asos moving into this space demonstrates how influential podcasts have become in terms of reaching consumers who demand increasingly engaging editorial content from brands, rather than traditional marketing or advertising.”