Worth $4.2 billion in Australia, with a growth of 3 per cent year on year, the ever-growing beauty industry is a force to be reckoned with. As with any large industry, there is competition at every turn, and while retailers fight to provide customers with the best possible experience, what can keep them coming back time and time again?

A focus on customer personalisation and exciting in-store experiences can build a connection with customers, offering them more than the typical retail experience, that in turn can have them become loyal shoppers for life. According to McKinsey & Co, a positive customer experience boosts satisfaction rates by 20%, resulting in a 10 to 15 per cent growth in conversion rates.

The rise in thoughtful design and interiors of beauty brands prioritises making a connection with customers to ensure their experience in-store is more customised, keeping them browsing for longer and more likely to purchase. This type of personalised and memorable experience is now expected by consumers and plays a large part in what set’s a store apart. McKinsey & Co have described it as a “hygiene factor”, customers take it for granted, but if a retailer gets it wrong, customers may choose to support a competitor instead.

The design of a beauty or skincare store, in particular, has the potential to attract customers looking for this personalisation and generate returns much higher than those who opt not to connect with their audience via personalisation.

In an industry where consumers are looking for products that meet their specific needs, there is no one size fits all solution to designing these stores. When you’re selling a range of products that vary in colour, shape and packaging it can become confusing for the consumer to find what they need if the store design clashes with the offering. In this case, a minimalist yet impactful fit out can hero the products and make it easier to navigate the space while still reflecting the brand.

A brand that uses personalised in-store experiences to set themselves apart from other skincare retailers is Script Skincare. Script offers tailored dermatological advice and skincare services in their stores as a way to tailor the products they sell to the needs of their customers.

Script understands that skincare is specific to each person and has found a simple solution that diagnoses each customer’s skin in-store within minutes. The Script Technology draws on decades of knowledge and asks a series of questions to define every person’s skin characteristics and the products that match.

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To enhance the experience of the space, their award-winning store design incorporates neutral textures and natural materials that reflect the space as anything but boring. As a brand backed by science that offers clean cosmeceutical grade products, the Script fit out draws from the modern technology they utilise in-store to create a futuristic yet intriguing space. The simplicity of the interior allows the products to remain the focus while the use of different surfaces and textures catches the eye at every turn.

Personalisation is something that brick and mortar stores will always have over online retailers, forming an important part of the retail strategy. It is an aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked during a retail build. Store design can help to communicate the right messaging in an indirect and seamless way.

What are you doing to create the wow factor in your space?

Backed by a team with in-depth industry knowledge, Storepro understands what works for different sectors in the retail industry and builds stores with the customer experience and expectations in mind, to create a space that caters to every consumer’s needs.