Sephora and Instagram: A Match Made in Heaven
Remember a time when Instagram didn’t exist? I clearly remember when I started using it. I was a senior in high school and it took three months AFTER all my friends started using it for me to join. I didn’t think it would last- it’s almost comical how wrong I was.
In fact, it really has rapidly changed in the past decade. While pulling photos for my recent midterm project, I came across many that had no location tagged. I couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t geotag that I was in London on my study abroad program- until I remembered Instagram hadn’t come out with geotagging features at that time.
Instagram now isn’t just a social networking platform. It’s a pivotal app for businesses- and not just for connecting with consumers. Instagram is a whole new way of shopping, giving users the ability to checkout on a brand’s page with the click of a button.
While the feature has largely been in a test mode with a few niche, indie brands that have partnered with the platform, it recently decided to take things one step further. Sephora announced this past Tuesday that it would partner with Instagram to allow 80 of its brands to be available for purchase through the Instagram platform. With 20 million followers on Instagram, it’s a natural step for Sephora to take to allow consumers to have yet another way to purchase products sold on their site.
According to Glossy, Sephora’s e-comm business is up 30% in March and saw 67% year over year growth in April and May. This is big considering we are in the midst of a global pandemic, with many consumers tightening their purse strings. Looks like we aren’t just trying to look good for other people, right? Allowing consumers to shop the products they feature directly from Instagram gives Sephora an additional platform to garner revenue. The article also points out that the brands featured on the platform “likely won’t have access to their own sales and traffic data via Instagram”. This is the case with online Sephora sales in general. For Sephora, it means they gain a great deal of sales data that can help them with buying digital ads and planning social content in the future.
But it’s not just a plus for Sephora. While Sephora gains exclusive data, brands will get enhanced exposure and will likely see increased sales. Many of the brands that will be featured, such as Drunk Elephant and Summer Fridays, are already heavily involved in social and exclusive to Sephora, so it seems only natural that they would go this route. It allows these brands to market to beauty lovers who may be heavily involved with social media but may not know about their brand. For both Sephora and the brand involved, it is a strategic decision to decrease the time the consumer has to think about the purchase before actually pulling the trigger. It’s increasing the likelihood they will make the purchase by making it extremely easy for the consumer. Talk about impulse shopping!
For Instagram, the partnership helps to enhance its role as an e-commerce channel. Glossy points out that Instagram’s checkout feature could add up to $10 billion in revenue for Facebook next year. Yes, you read that right, billion with a B.
The Sephora partnership is a strategy that Instagram hopes will set them up to compete with Amazon, who has recently entered the beauty arena on their own. As a beauty consumer, it seems like a no-brainer to shop directly from Instagram. As a follower of Sephora on the platform, I watch their many live streams and Instastories featuring how-tos on how to apply makeup or the latest skincare product. To be able to tap my screen during those videos and immediately make a purchase seems, well, almost too easy.
I haven’t used Instagram check out yet, but as a die-hard beauty lover and Sephora loyalty member, this will likely change that. Dear wallet, I am so sorry.
