A beautiful thing: How Sephora found virtual success

With the onset of COVID-19, Sephora immediately closed its stores and shifted to a virtual-first world. However, beauty is inherently a tactile industry, so in-store interactions are vital to the client experience. After several months of closure, Sephora reopened its stores with the safety of employees, clients, and the beauty community top of mind by implementing its best-in-class Health & Hygiene Guidelines.

As tester restrictions and social distancing guidelines remained in place, Sephora turned to tech to echo aspects of the tactile experiences their clients knew and loved online — and used touchless experiences in-store to stay fresh-faced in the rapidly evolving retail world. New offerings included digital product queries and video or chat consultations with expert beauty advisors, contactless try-ons, and online courses, as well as frictionless mobile payments and same-day deliveries. In-store shopping got a facelift too, with services like queue reservations and the option to Reserve Online, Pick Up In Store (ROPIS), and most recently, Buy Online, Pick Up In Store, to allow for even more ease and convenience for Sephora’s clients.