The Glossier Promise

Since the Modern Retail Landscape is no longer limited to just physical space, we took the time to consider how Glossier uses branded storytelling in the wild.

Glossier constantly delivers on their brand promise inside of the store and outside the store, winning in the Modern Retail Landscape.

TLDR

Here are the key takeaways from our visit:

• Meet the Customer Where They Are: Discover where your core customer spends much of their idle time and invade that space.
• Bring Brand Stories to Life in the Store: Use media content in store to orient customers and direct them through the experience toward the point of sale.
• Declutter Your Space: Scale back on how many products you present at one time so that your customer is inspired by the decision making process, rather than overwhelmed.
• Continue the Conversation: Surprise and delight shoppers with something that allows them to carry the retail experience beyond the point of sale.

Meet the Customer Where They Are

For the Glossier customer, the journey to their showroom begins either on a social media feed or on a New York subway where they’ve managed to capture your attention beyond the fuss of a crowded F train. If you’re familiar with the Glossier brand, I’m sure you’re recalling to memory a high definition image of a young woman with impeccable skin gazing admirably into the camera lens piquing an emotional response somewhere between awe, genuine interest, and desire.

The Glossier brand promises to provide young women with the “new essentials that form the backbone of [their] unique beauty routine,” like wardrobe basics for your face. From this they’ve built a local influencer strategy that turns real customers (read: trustworthy) into Brand Representatives on Instagram. They’ve even just launched a partnership with the 600 million active user platform where customers can purchase directly through the app, intentionally connecting with prospective customers while delivering on a consistent, distinctive promise.

Bring Brand Stories to Life

I decided to head to 123 Lafayette in Soho to visit the Glossier showroom where the minimalist and — well, glossy — aesthetic reinforces their back to basics brand promise. The shop immerses the now active customer into the full retail experience by featuring similar distinguishable ads featuring models of all shades donning their preferred Glossier products all about the space. Bringing this media into the store delivers an emotional response consistent with those invoked at touchpoints that drives customers into the store. This expected transformation only deepens their faith in your brand.

Declutter the Space

From there I began to roam about the largely white showroom, testing and trying on different products to see if they really lived up to the hype. I noticed that the space wasn’t overwhelming, which is crucial in the MRL when your intention is to facilitate the customer journey not discourage it. Too many options may be frustrating causing customers to leave empty handed, while appropriately spacing and properly orienting items on the sales floor inspires a personal connection and an urge to complete a purchase.

Continue the Conversation

By the time I reached checkout nearly 45 minutes later, I was convinced by two women in soft pink jumpers that two shades of their new Cloud Paint seamless cheek colors (any Dusk lovers out there?), Boy Brow in black, and their Skin Salve in coconut were my new beauty staples. The reusable gift bag I got not only matched their barely there aesthetic, but was filled with branded stickers and product tips useful for a first-time shopper like myself. The product packaging and gift bag literally allows you to carry the distinctive Glossier brand identity beyond their curated retail experience, beyond the point of sale, back to the place where they first caught your attention.

Post by: Mela Lawson, Communications Strategist at The Science Project

Do you have any Tales from the Sales Floor experiences that you would like to share? Do you work for a brand and would like to have us evaluate your customer experience? Connect with us! We’d love to hear from you.