British beauty brand and retailer Lush Cosmetics today launches its first mobile application for the United States, recreating the store experience through the ability to shop by scent or mood and purchase directly from social content.

The app marries content with shopping in a way meant to appeal to millennials, with all the articles, ingredients and social content shoppable. Users can also experience content being posted on Instagram within the app, such as wish lists and the products other users are excited about.

“Our fans are passionate about all things Lush and they are on the move,” said Brandi Halls, director of brand communications at Lush Cosmetics. “They are currently engaging with us in our shops, on our social channels and through our website, it only makes sense that we would extend everything they love about Lush, our products, stories and values, into the palm of their hand.

“Lush fans love sharing their Lush experiences with the world so we are really excited about the shop social feature and we think they will be too,” she said. “We’ve seen the impact that social conversation can have on fan engagement, this feature allows our customers to easily and seamlessly shop what everyone’s raving about and sharing on social.”

The brand, known for its scents and bath bombs, worked with design firm Oven Bits on the app.

Active engagement
Key functionality in the app includes the ability to search for products by scent and mood. Users can scan bar codes on products to find out more information or place a quick order.

Products can be quickly added to the cart by holding down a finger for a moment. Users can also see what their friends are doing through social sharing.

“Mobile traffic is quickly outpacing desktop traffic for the Lush North America Web sites and their fastest growing consumer segments is teenage and young adult women,” said Micah Davis, CEO of Oven Bits. “Combine this with more than 2.5 million Instagram followers, which is entirely accessed via mobile, and all indications point to a huge opportunity for Lush with native mobile commerce.

“On both platforms, the experience is highly adapted for speed and efficient mobile browsing,” he said. “Checkout can be completed in as little as 15 seconds using Apple Pay.

“The app emphasizes continued engagement through rich story content, recent social imagery and detailed ingredients library – all of which are include shoppable products.”

Content is king
The checkout integrates a number of payment options, including credit card, PayPal and Apple Pay. Physical gift cards can be added to the app, saved and scanned at the point of sale.

A stories tab features content related to beauty as well as Lush’s campaign to support human and animal rights and environmental causes.

The app is only available in the U.S. for iOS and Android. An app for Canada is also in the works.

“We worked very hard to ensure that the app really is an extension of the in-store experience,” Ms. Halls said. “On land, you get the full product catalog with the option to shop by scent or feeling which is very much in line with how one might engage with one of our sales associates.

“Users can learn more about our products and values in our curated stories section, can shop social and of course find their closest store,” she said. “They can also manage their wish list as well as their gift cards in order to pay in store or in app.”