CX Industry Focus: Online Beauty Retailers

In today’s digital society, online shopping is a consistent part of our daily lives. Whether it’s for clothes, beauty or food, we now have the ability to shop globally for anything and at any time. More and more consumers are looking to the digital space to run their errands.

But why? Perhaps they have tight schedules and online alleviates the hassle of  pushing through crowds or finding a good parking space. Maybe they look online to satisfy a need for choice and variety of products, or is it they simply that they wish to spend money in the comfort of their own home? For whatever reason, digital communication and online shopping have changed the whole dynamic of customer experience. Nevertheless, online beauty retailers still face similar issues to that of the physical store.

We analysed data from four leading brands to find out what drives customers to feel the way that they do and experience particular emotions in the world of digital beauty retailers.

While SpaceNK do have some physical stores their online presence takes the lead in our analysis. When running mentions of Space NK through our emotion analysis platform, Emotics, we found that the brand came out on top with a rather impressive Adorescore of 56. The retailer scores highly for trust, which is an impressive 12% above the industry average. Trust is boosted by factors such as partnerships with influential UK beauty bloggers, like Kate LaVie and Caroline Hirons, and promotions by top beauty brands on social media. High joy is also driven by Space NK’s competitions which gives customers the opportunity to win gifts and experience rewards.  

https://twitter.com/stylesprinter/status/1027998100227600391

Everyone loves a good competition, especially one that you win. Competitions increase and promote positive customer experiences, communication between brand and customer, as well as valuable affinities between brand and consumer.

In close second came Cult Beauty, who won an Adorescore of 51. The online retailer is leading in the joy and indexes. Cult Beauty offers regular discount codes to its customers, as well as their irresistible ‘goody bag’, which features top products both sample size and a generous full size, for free, when you spend over a certain amount online. 

Discounts and gifts boost feelings of joy and satisfaction for the customer. I mean, who doesn’t love a free gift? Customers of Cult Beauty trust the brand due to their impeccable customer service. High trust was driven by praises of CultBeauty’s prompt replies and helpful interactions when it comes to their troubled customers. It’s for reasons like this that Cult Beauty are 12.5% above the industry average in interest, and 13% higher than the industry average for joy. 

This constant interaction and good service solidifies brand loyalty and promotes a positive brand association. Cult Beauty certainly win when it comes to customer experience.

Feel Unique rank third with a somewhat middle-of-the-road Adorescore of 47. The retailer scores highly in interest and trust, which can be attributed to their connection with fashion and beauty influencers, such as Victoria McGrath aka InTheFrow, who has recently promoted the retailer on YouTube. Feel Unique also offers products which are sustainable and vegan. This leads customers to invest in the brand, particularly those that are interested in cruelty free products, as their cosmetic methods are transparent, ethical and trustworthy.

That being said, Feel Unique score quite highly in sadness, which is likely down to their customers being particularly unimpressed and frustrated with their poor delivery process, and then a lack of attempt to resolve the problem.

https://twitter.com/bizzarebird/status/1007963996052426753

For Feel Unique to improve their Adorescore and overall customer experience, they must address issues specific to their customer needs, as digital customers know what they want, when they want it, and aren’t too shy to tell you.

And finally we get to Beauty Bay. Beauty Bay’s Adorescore totals 26 and is highest in sadness, which is 30% above the industry average. This is mostly due to the retailer not fulfilling promises of next day delivery, as well as issues with returns, poor customer service and insufficient consumer communication. Consumers are fed up with continually having to pester the brand for a response and for simple resolutions.

https://twitter.com/HannahHodgson__/status/1027122820340432896

No matter how good your products are, customer service is key. Customers want a seamless experience whether it’s in-store or online.

Customer experience remains a dominant aspect of retail in the digital space. Customers want to feel valued, respected and important. Retailers must understand their customers and fulfil their needs by rewarding them with gifts, swift communication, delivering on promises and addressing issues and successes. If they can achieve this, then they can expect repeat custom, brand loyalty and happy shoppers.

Adoreboard’s emotion analytics software, Emotics, enables companies and clients to uncover and measure emotions and themes that are driving their customers to feel a particular way. Emotics then offers decision ready insights to improve customer experience and win business.

If you’re keen to find out more, sign up here for our next free webinar to discover how you can transform your customer journey and improve your CX program.

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