Brief:
- Personal care retailer Sally Beauty revamped its website with a mobile-first strategy aimed at consumers who browse by smartphone. The chain now lets customers shop directly from its Instagram feed and purchase items using Apple Pay, according to a company announcement.
- The upgraded website has a "shop by solution" feature that lets people receive customized recommendations based on their specific needs, such as anti-frizz, repair and color protection for hair. A one-stop portal that shows the latest offers and deals from Sally brands aims to make shopping easier and quicker for mobile or on-the-go customers.
- For salon and beauty counter professionals, Sally's new site provides exclusive educational content and specialized offers for hair care and beauty products. The chain is urging professionals to set up an account on the site to gain specialized access.
Insight:
Sally's revamped mobile-first website aims to reach the millions of customers who rely on social media and beauty apps to discover fresh looks and makeup techniques. By adding a transactional capability to its Instagram feed within the site, Sally can reach customers who use the Facebook-owned, image-sharing app to follow celebrities and social influencers who provide makeup tutorials and tips. Thirty-six percent of makeup shoppers and 30% of facial skin care shoppers use online and social channels to evaluate products before buying, a Facebook IQ study found, signaling that Sally's integrated approach could remove friction and appeal to online beauty shoppers.
A separate study found that more than 70% of Instagram users say they have made fashion, beauty or style purchases after seeing something on the platform, with makeup as one of the top product categories. Instagram last week began testing Checkout on Instagram, a new feature that lets mobile users complete and track purchases without having to leave the app, and will roll out the service to more brands throughout the year. Kylie Cosmetics, Adidas, Nike, H&M, Zara and Warby Parker are among the brands piloting the new native checkout feature.
With the revamped mobile website, Sally aims to reach customers who spend 80% of their time in the pre-search phase — also known as influence phase — of their purchase journey, with informative, multiplatform content that looks to trigger a purchase, according to a Condé Nast-commissioned study by research firm Tapestry.
