Estee Lauder’s partnership with YouCam Makeup, a virtual makeover mobile application, could help it in luring more millennials to its stores. The beauty company is cleverly combining digital with a real-time experience to create a loyal customer base for itself. Recent research showed that a majority of millennials still prefer shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, even though e-commerce purchases are at an all-time high. Estee Lauder’s new partnership aims to address this by providing a personalized experience that involves both online and offline experiences.
The Problem Estee Lauder Faced
Estee Lauder’s performance has slowed down in North America of late, which the company attributed in large part to pressure on U.S. mid-tier department stores due to low traffic. However, according to research from Accenture, almost 77% of Gen Z customers still prefer shopping at brick-and-mortar establishments – at least for some product categories – even though the revenue share from online shopping keeps growing. Estee Lauder seems to have found an interesting way to address this apparent paradox.
The Partnership With YouCam Makeup
A recently announced partnership between the company and YouCam Makeup could help in creating an omni-channel experience for Estee Lauder’s customers that will enhance their browsing experience on mobile devices while still attracting them to brick-and-mortar stores.
Estee Lauder’s recently launched Pure Color Love Lipstick partnership with YouCam Makeup will allow users to try out all of their 30 lipstick shades through the app, before deciding to buy one. YouCam Makeup has so far been downloaded around 400 million times worldwide.
At some stores, there will be beauty advisors to show customers how they can use the YouCam app and try on lipsticks, while the integration of YouCam’s virtual in-store magic mirrors will encourage customers to further engage with the products and try on more options.
Partnership Could Set A Trend
Many beauty players are looking to reinvent themselves to a degree, in order to better interact with digitally connected millennial buyers. This step by Estee Lauder to provide a personal experience, that also encourages interactions with products in stores, appears to be a clever move to capitalize on users’ digital presence to bring them to stores. This partnership could not only attract foot traffic to stores, but could also increase sales of products through the help of such enhanced interactions. If the partnership is successful, Estee Lauder will likely bring similar experiences to other brands as well, while more beauty players could follow suit in order to drive store traffic.
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