The evolution of Sephora.com
Sephora.com was first captured on January 9, 1997. The cosmetic and fragrance company, Sephora, in 1997 is drastically different as a business from what it is today.
The photo above shows the website home page in 1997. At this time, Sephora was a small group of stores located in France that specialized in selling fragrances. The home page includes French and English type, but when clicking on a link, all of the writing in is French. The site only includes names of perfumes that are sold in stores, and a handful of articles on fragrance trends and profiles of designers. This is the only time advertisements from other companies were captured on the website.
In 1999 the website switched to English and features many links to products to obtain more information. This shows the popularity of the company has grown to an international audience and it is no longer just a fragrance company, but also sells cosmetic and skincare items. The drastic change in website desgin and their business model as a whole can be seen through this screen shot.
It also introduces a concept that is well-known today named, “Ask the beauty advisor.” This concept makes the consumer feel the company cares about each customer’s personal wants and needs. It is also a way to keep “foot traffic” to the site by having the consumer come back to the site to see if their question was answered. Products were still not able to be purchased online, but they do offer a link to register and receive a free gift. Free samples and gifts are another popular concept used by Sephora today.
In 2000, the company began selling their products online. The site background changes to white, but the black and white Sephora logo remains the same. The “beauty advisor” feature is still present, as well as more products like, “bath & body” and “tools & assoscories.”
The website does not change much throughout the years until 2007 when haircare and teeth whitening products were available for purchase.
Again, in 2009 little change is made to the over all website appearance, but as consumers have become more aware of the health impacts of harsh chemicals in beauty, cleaning, and food items, the demand for organuc products has increased. The site displays the consumers new demands by removing the “smile” tab at the top and replacing it with “natural & organic.”
Today, the website looks similar to 2009. It includes many features the website offered in 1999, such as free gifts and samples, receiving personal beauty advice from Sephora “beauty advisors,” and retains the same logo and brand colors.
Although the website’s appearance changes very little in it’s history, the change in Sephora’s business model is very apparent. The history of Sephora.com clearly displays the growth of the company as it began as a chain of small fragrance stores in France to an internationally recognized cosmetic and fragrance company. The website history also shows how Sephora adjusts to customer demands and trends, but also keeps it’s core business concepts that have proven to retain customers and be beneficial to the company as they are still in use today.
