What Happened
Beauty retailer Sephora took a cue from popular dating app Tinder to design a new shopping feature on its mobile site. Dubbed “”swipe it, shop it,” this feature borrows Tinder’s famous swiping mechanism to guide shoppers through a series of looks. Each look resembles a Tinder card that users can either swipe left to dismiss or swipe right to add to their shopping cart. To promote the feature, Sephora will also use Tinder’s polling feature to give out free makeup samples on the dating app in September, making it the first beauty brand to buy ads on Tinder.
What Brands Need To Do
By adopting the swiping mechanism, this fun feature shows Sephora is tuned into an interface experience that today’s consumers have grown accustomed to on mobile. Other brands developing features for their ecommerce portals, be they websites or apps, should take note and learn to design it in a mobile-friendly way that presents a user experience that matches with consumer behavior. The Tinder ad buy is a complementary move for this campaign, showing that Sephora is willing to try out new platforms to reach mobile consumers. More brands should start looking into native ads in popular apps to bypass ad blockers and connect with consumers.
The Lab has extensive experience working with beauty and fashion brands to reach shoppers on digital channels. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics that includes a digital beauty bar that innovatively incorporates social and mobile elements into the sampling experience. If you’d like to learn more about developing a mobile strategy to reach connected shoppers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland (samantha@ipglab.com) to schedule a visit to the Lab.
Source: AdWeek