Cosmetics Co. Sephora Finds Calm In The Retail Storm

Many retailers have been suffering over the past few years due to the increasing popularity of shopping online.

One industry, however, that’s rising above it all is beauty. According to market research company NPD Group, there has been a reported 6 percent increase in prestige beauty sales over the past 12 months equaling $15.9 billion. With beauty bloggers, YouTube tutorials and Instagram coming into the mix, the entire beauty retail experience has been flipped on its head. The virtual experience of seeing how makeup is applied and what works best for which skin types allows consumers a way to try before buying items.

Through Sephora’s mobile app, consumers can try out different makeup in an augmented reality setting. There’s even a way to scan consumers’ faces to find the right product to match skin tone and digital makeup tutorial classes. People want autonomy both with their digital and in-store experiences, and Sephora has tapped into that. The beauty giant opened its Innovation Lab in San Francisco a few years back that combines its mobile app with in-store shopping, which allows people to customize their shopping experience.

With this new in-store shopping experience, many other retailers are following suit. Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Kohls are all restructuring their brick-and-mortar locations in an effort to fight the eCommerce battle.

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