Beautycounter's New Store Is All About One of Retail's Biggest Trends for 2021

2020 altered the retail landscape as we once knew it, likely forever. But yes, while the importance of direct-to-consumer channels and ecommerce is much more pronounced, those alternative shopping avenues haven't eliminated the need for brick-and-mortar storefronts. Instead, they've changed how brands approach physical shops, bringing a jolt of digital capability to in-person retail. Beautycounter's latest location is an example of that fusion. The store, which opened in December in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, contains a "livestream, shoppable content studio" that allows for in-store content creation that can be broadcast to customers outside of the store, aiding in the brand's ecommerce efforts. The store, based in the brand's hometown, came out of an effort to "build a sense of community around our shop in a post-Covid world," said Gregg Renfrew, founder and CEO of Beautycounter. And livestreaming is how the physical store aims to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping during and after the Covid-19 period. Creating a communal and consultative model It's a fitting mission for Beautycounter. The brand, founded in 2013, is one of the most high-profile in the "clean beauty" space. Beautycounter employs independent consultants to sell its products, in addition to traditional and digital retail channels. Because of that consultant model, community is particularly important for the brand. That sense of bringing consumers and products together in an organic, responsible way is also reflected in the Beautycounter's efforts towards educating consumers on the potentially harmful ingredients often used in makeup, skincare or other personal care items. The studio will allow Beautycounter consultants, staff or other influencers to livestream from within the store's four walls, and use it as a 'prop' of sorts in their videos. When pointing out a product in stores, online viewers will then be able to shop it at home. A fact of brick-and-mortar, said Renfrew, is that you can't reach everyone. This will allow consumers, no matter where they're located, to experience the Beautycounter storefront. The store will come equipped with everything one would expect of a Beautycounter store. "We believe that your store environment should fully demonstrate your brand and help clearly articulate it to the consumer," said Renfrew. "But we also have been watching the trends coming out of Asia, seeing people of influence coming into stores and being able to interact with their respective communities, have this two way dialogue that people are really craving and create a shoppable interaction within the four walls of our store." Bringing the physical store to life—online Indeed, incorporating livestreaming into Beautycounter's newest store isn't just about creating a sense of community, but staying on the cutting edge of retail trends. According to Gartner, livestream commerce was a $60 billion industry in 2019, though only $1 billion of that was spent in the U.S. That number undoubtedly increased in 2020, and experts are forecasting that livestream commerce to become a bigger force stateside in 2021. Anthony Sperduti, founder of creative studio Mythology, that partnered with Beautycounter to bring the store to life, said that creating experiences that allow for greater levels of consumer connection is particularly important for a mission-driven brand, in turning consumers into "zealots and believers" for a brand's cause. "When you have an opportunity to meet the founder, meet the CEO, meet the product developer, the people that are actually behind the scenes, that's going to be extremely compelling for today's consumer," added Renfrew. The future retail experience The idea of using livestreaming feels ripe for the Covid-19 era, where widespread consumer adoption of ecommerce was accelerated by five years. But Sperduti said that the store wasn't designed with being pandemic proof in mind. "It's not like the store is just a content creation studio, and when the world gets a little bit back to normal, it's stuck in Covid times," he said. "If no one went that to the to the back of that store, it still offers an experience that we feel is best of class and does all the things we want to do, like the education around the product." The store also builds on Beautycounter's ongoing 'Change Beauty Forever' campaign. Though the first association that might come to mind with that tagline is likely of Beautycounter's advocacy work around passing legislation around what chemicals can be included in cosmetics and personal care products in the U.S., it's also a nod to the store's embrace of new technologies. As Renfrew said: "It's not only the future of retail, but also the future of ecommerce, to build intimate relationships with your clients and reach wider audiences, but also be able to do it in a place that fully demonstrates the brand that you've built."

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Beautycounter's New Store Is All About One of Retail's Biggest Trends for 2021

The shop wants to build community through livestreaming in a post-Covid world

Diana Pearl

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Diana Pearl