Beauty brands seek multichannel availability

Consumer behaviour is changing, and so beauty brands are changing their distribution strategies to be where consumers want to browse and buy. As department stores consolidate and shoppers seek out specialty shops and online outlets, brands like Nyx are opening their own UK stores for direct customer contact. Nyx, for example, recently opened a flagship UK retail location with digital elements designed to appeal to Millennials.

Beauty-sample subscription businesses like Birchbox give consumers more access to more new products. This is another channel for brands to reach consumers who like variety or want to test different items before becoming a loyal buyer of a particular brand/product.

Birchbox is, in fact, considering a UK store as another channel to supplement its online-only business model. 'Physical retail enhances the relationship with the brand, but it has to be profitable in their own right, it’s not just a marketing activity for us', says cofounder Katia Beauchamp. If Birchbox opens a store, the brands it distributes gain yet another channel of access to retail customers.

Yet the Birchbox cofounder's question is very important for multichannel strategy: Will brick-and-mortar retail shops be profitable on their own? The answer depends, in part, on how consumers adapt their browsing and buying habits in a crowded multichannel marketing environment.