eCommerce For Health & Beauty Brands: A Best Practices Guide

There’s no doubt that since the end of coronavirus lockdowns, the global health and beauty industry has struggled to reach its pre-pandemic revenue levels. However, while thriving in this space might seem trickier than ever, eСommerce success in health and beauty is within reach.

The continuous growth of digital commerce has given rise to a wide range of new techniques, channels, and opportunities. In this article, we look at the tools and resources a health & beauty eCommerce agency can use to drive interaction, traffic, and, ultimately, sales.

The Key For Brands Is Staying Top of Mind

To succeed in the current health & beauty industry, something needs to underpin everything you do - the delivery of a delightful customer experience. Central to offering this kind of experience are emerging technologies that need to be leveraged to create an engaging shopping journey.

Studies show that almost 90% of consumers have recently tried a new makeup brand because of product innovation - delivered via a purpose-built tech stack. Simply put, customers in the health & beauty industry crave omnichannel experiences.

So, come with us now as we lay out some of the Klaviyo eCommerce integration options that you can use to provide an experience that drives purchases.

Beauty Subscription Models

When it comes to the subscription model, the beauty and personal care sector is perhaps best suited, along with the food and beverage industry. That’s why it has the largest share of worldwide subscribers (27.6%), and it offers a distinctly exclusive experience for customers, as they get to enjoy beauty boxes that provide access to their favorite brands.

Real-world examples of this include:

• Kinder beauty boxes ($26 per month)
• Curology acne treatment boxes ($30 per month)
• Silver Mirror Luxury Facial boxes ($116 per month)

Delivering a new box full of goodies every month using auto-replenishment, these boxes are hugely popular with the American buying public. Beauty consumers simply love the access they provide to their favorite products in a super convenient way, while for the brand that supplies them, predictable recurring revenue and a loyal customer base can be enjoyed.

The Power of Social Commerce

Enlist the help of any top health & beauty eCommerce agency, and they’ll typically include social commerce in their proposed strategy. That’s because it’s a proven method for showcasing products and services - most notably in China, where it accounts for more than 13% of all eCommerce sales.

For the uninitiated, social commerce involves the use of platforms like Instagram and Facebook to sell goods and services. Allowing customers to complete their purchases without ever leaving the social app they’re on, health & beauty is something of a sweet spot for this approach. Brands enjoying great success with social commerce include:

• Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics (London) - one of the first to create a digital storefront using virtual reality (VR)
• Kylie Cosmetics (USA) - used social media to reach millions via major events like the Superbowl
• Dollar Shave Club - hugely popular on YouTube with tongue-in-cheek storytelling

According to studies, as much as 58% of US retail sales will be influenced by social commerce this year, meaning that brands that neglect this area risk being left behind. Averagely, US consumers spend 2 hrs and 22 minutes each day on social media, so the audience is certainly there.

Leveraging Zero-Party Customer Data

If you want to offer an amazing customer experience, then it needs to be highly personalized, to the point where it seems like you’re speaking directly to them. To do this, you need a raft of zero-party data relating to your customers’ behaviors, regular beauty routines, hair/skin type, and even what products they’re currently using.

The great thing about leveraging your owned channels is that they create lots of zero-party data like this, with your email marketing campaigns benefitting the most. As such, there are a couple of ways you can do this, the first of which is just to ask!

If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get

The old adage still applies today, and simply asking represents by far the easiest way to get them to divulge personal information. While many will be happy to provide it just to get a more personalized shopping experience, you can boost engagement by using a small incentive, such as a small discount or free product or service.

With lots of this kind of information, a good Klaviyo eCommerce agency can deliver super-personalized messaging, and there are a few ways you can gather it.

• A Customer Survey or Questionnaire - you don’t want to bombard your email subscribers with regular surveys for fear of customer fatigue, however, a well-created customer survey that offers an incentive for completion can reap rich rewards. Focus on ease by perhaps making your quiz multiple choice, and you’ll increase the likelihood that they’re filled out.
• Polls, Calculators & Contests - another way to seamlessly gather customer info is through interactive experiences like contests, polls, and website calculators. Compared to static content, this route is roughly twice as effective for obtaining customer preference info.
• Multi-step Forms - when customers are actively exclusive access to new products or services, multi-step forms are great for gathering personal data. Their desire to not miss out will encourage them to complete the form, offering you a trail of valuable info as part of the process.

Building Trust With User-Generated Content

Last up in our best practices guide is one of the most compelling types of content for eCommerce businesses - user-generated content (UGC). Klaviyo eCommerce agency experts know that it’s the authenticity of these types of posts that people love - as (according to PRWeek) 86% of consumers will seek out UGC before buying a product for the first time. UGC types include:

• Video content (including live streaming)
• Reviews & testimonials
• Case studies
• Q&A Forums
• Blog posts

Moroccanoil is a hair & body care company that promotes its products via email, social media, and SMS, allowing them to get increased mileage from their campaigns. Its success is based on the fact that consumers crave relatable content to guide them when making their purchases.

Creating a Delightful Customer Experience That Sells

The marketplace in 2023 is a challenging one for health and beauty brands, however, when you follow best practices as laid out here, you can create a delightful experience that sells. Customers are more discerning now than ever due to having to tighten their belts, therefore, a great omnichannel experience needs to be delivered.

Beauty box subscriptions, social commerce, and user-generated content can be blended together either by your in-house marketing team or a Klaviyo eCommerce agency to create the buzz you need around your brand.

At the heart of everything, of course, is valuable 1st party data that allows you to make every message you send super personalized and impactful. It’s the least that’s expected from consumers today and key to your ongoing commercial success.