Macy's Beauty Box

Beauty Box is a subscription box service that features five sample beauty products, pouch, informational pamphlet and coupon, all centered around a new theme each month.

Context

Beauty counters were once a big draw for department stores but that format does not appeal to millennials, instead, they are opting to shop at specialty stores such as Sephora or Ulta that provide a more self-guided shopping experience.

Furthermore, newcomers such as Ipsy and Birchbox have redefined how consumers are discovering and purchasing their beauty products.

Recognizing this change in landscape Macy’s launched a subscription box in beta and it was time to scale the service.

Process

Competitive Analysis

I looked at what's out there already, both direct competitors as well as other subscription box models in general. I conducted user interviews, watched YouTube unboxing videos and read user comments.

Additionally, I was looking for what makes for a compelling landing page. Common to nearly all were:

• How it works section
• Overview of recent boxes
• Preview of the upcoming box
• Social Proof
• Featured social media posts

Learnings

Older demographics expressed having loyalty to a particular brand(s). Their way of discovering products is rooted in in-store interactions with associates. Since those associates represent individual brands, this group typically will find one or two brands and stick with it for all their beauty routine needs.

In contrast, younger shoppers, millennials, in particular, are brand agnostic. Much like in other areas they tend to want the best of the best -- and are likely to use products from a large variety of brands to ensure this. Their preferred method for discovering products starts with seeing looks on social media and magazines, seeking out information that shows them how to achieve those looks. We knew that a critical component to the success of our program would be in the education of how to use the products we shipped to users.

Userflow

Solution

Entry Points

The main features of the design include entry-points, two versions of the landing page, where users that allow users to wait-list when the program is full, and the second to subscribe, a "month-view" showing past boxes, and a subscription process.

Landing Page

Path to Purchase