If you’re shopping for a new foundation or eyeshadow, chances are the supermarket isn’t the first destination that pops into your head. But some supermarkets do have a much more extensive beauty department than you might expect—often with better prices than specialty stores or department store makeup counters. That’s the case for one Northeastern grocery retailer, who wanted to increase awareness and sales of products in its beauty care category. To achieve this goal, Interactions teamed up with L’Oréal, one of the retailer’s top beauty vendors, to develop a six-month pilot program of professional in-store beauty events.
Together, Interactions and L’Oréal developed a series of cosmetic events to be held once a month at 10 of the retailer’s stores. Each event has a different theme that corresponds to certain L’Oréal offerings. For example, the program launched in March with a foundation event, where shoppers were treated to free makeovers from Interactions’ Beauty Advisors using L’Oréal foundation. The Beauty Advisors, all of whom have extensive cosmetology experience, helped shoppers find the best L’Oréal foundation color and formula for their skin type, and offered tips and tricks for using the products.
“Because our Beauty Advisors are professionally trained in makeup application, they’re able to teach shoppers about the product and show them how to be successful with it,” explains Lauren Harrison, Account Executive for Interactions. “That has been especially valuable to the success of the program—and to increasing sales of L’Oréal product in the store.”
To promote each event, Interactions collaborates with L’Oréal to create high-end custom signage, which helps get shoppers excited about the upcoming events—and also raises awareness of the availability of L’Oréal products in the store. Similarly, during each event, in addition to showcasing the specific products being featured, Interactions’ Beauty Advisors hand out coupons good toward any L’Oréal purchase and help shoppers looking for other beauty products find L’Oréal options best suited for them.
Results of the program to date have been impressive. On average, sales of the L’Oréal products showcased increased by 187 percent during the week following each event—and stayed lifted by 61 percent for a full month after. Sales of other L’Oréal products have also benefited, showing sustained sales lift for at least 8 weeks after each event.
Shopper feedback has also been very positive. “Customers were pleasantly surprised to see this event taking place in their store and were asking when the next event was going to be,” said one Interactions’ Beauty Advisor. “They were very interested in learning about additional application techniques.”
“These in-store events are elevating the center store beauty experience for shoppers,” says Lindsay Holland, Director of Sales and Operations for Interactions. “Upon completion of the pilot, we hope to expand the program to additional stores and offer events on a consistent basis so they are something that shoppers will come to look forward to as they begin to see the retailer as a beauty—and L’Oréal product—destination.”