Creating a new skin care product or brand, involves time and often a personal investment. However, the online retailing side can fall by the wayside meaning that your brand doesn’t reach its full potential.

Months and sometimes even years are spent on formulations, testing and the perfect packaging; but sales and marketing can often be let down by poor online user-experience. No matter how good your product is, if it’s a difficult or unpleasant experience to purchase online, competitors will be on standby with a sleek user interface, free delivery and smooth checkout functionality to steal potential customers.

That’s why a group of industry veterans and experts from the world of beauty, marketing and online retail have put together the Skincare Report, to highlight the pitfalls to avoid and things to look for when building your online sales platform.

Here are two key issues to consider when retailing skin care online:

• Overcoming Physical Contact
• Use technology to aid service

The best skin care service inevitably requires the touching of customers’ skin. This process involves feeling for oil levels, dehydration, texture and congestion while discussing and listening to the nuances of the customer’s skin concerns and skin history.

However, digital solutions rolled out by doctors and many health care providers this year have proven that providing similar services online are indeed possible.

Make it Social

Consider the use of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger Video Calling or other online video communication services to offer consultations to customers online. This allows customers to see the products, including the beautiful packaging experience which is often overlooked online. There is a reason unboxing YouTube channels are as big as they are.

Use Existing Talent

While in-store footfall may be low right now, use your in-store talent to broadcast skin care consultations via social channels with willing customers, sharing their stories and showing how your brand tackles their concern.

AI and Phone Tech

Also, as Dermalogica has done quite well, look at integrating amazing AI platforms into your apps from companies such as Lululab or Revive. Apps like this use your customer's increasingly high-quality phone cameras to analyze skin and make recommendations.

Overcoming Impulse Purchase Blockers

Instant Gratification

Consumers continue to shop in store to feed the hedonistic monster, whereas online retail can still be considered largely utilitarian (Cai et al., 2012).

When in-store customers do not have to wait to get their hands on their purchases and use them, they benefit from instant gratification. This means they spend more.

So, how can this be replicated online?

Where applicable, give customers a choice of courier and be explicit about timings. Having an arrival date can be just as satisfying and exciting as having it there and then, delayed gratification, like Christmas day.

Increase Loyalty

Next-day delivery subscriptions, such as those offered by Amazon, Feel Unique and ASOS, can also help increase return customer rate. Shoppers know their postage has already been taken care of and this gives customers another reason to shop with you over anyone else.

Make it Easy

Finally, household printers are much less common now than they were 10 years ago. For customers who do not own a printer, drop-off services from brands such as Hermes or DPD can be done without printing. This further removes another barrier to returns and knowing returning something isn’t a hassle, will make them spend less cautiously in the first place.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Thom Watson, Head of SEO at Flaunt Digital. Watson is a digital media marketing specialist with over a decade working online and offline. His experience encompasses national and international luxury and niche beauty and lifestyle brands, including consultancy with Estée Lauder Companies, Procter & Gamble and Philips Electronics.

Watson has worked on projects with beauty industry icons such as Jo Malone, Lyn Harris, Amanda Lacey, Marian Newman, Mark Constantine. He was also author of MANFACE, the UK’s most prominent men’s skin care blog, active between 2011 and 2016.