Can Curbside Pickup Be Impactful For Credo, Cos Bar And Bluemercury?

As states across the United States slowly start reopening for business, beauty retail chains are adopting curbside order pickup programs to bring in much-needed brick-and-mortar revenue.

Ulta Beauty launched curbside pickup for online orders, an extension of its Buy Online Pickup in Store, or BOPIS service, at 350 stores the first week of May. It doubled the number of doors offering the service by May 12. As additional retailers Bluemercury, Cos Bar and Credo have rolled out their own versions of curbside in states such as Texas, California and Illinois, they’re taking a nuanced and high-touch approach to the order fulfillment program.

At luxury player Cos Bar, which operates 18 locations in 12 states, a heritage of customer relationship building has helped its curbside program perform. “We have a history and foundation of clienteling and good customer relationships, not only on our store level, but also with what we have done since,” explains co-president Oliver Garfield, whose mother Lily Garfield founded Cos Bar in Aspen over 40 years ago. “We’ve always been high-end, carried the best of the best brands and, as such, we’ve always had to have really strong people. Customer service is product knowledge and expertise, to be that expert for the client, but, then, you’ve got to have a good relationship. You’ve got to be able to connect with people.”

Cos Bar closed retail locations on March 18, keeping its retail employees on payroll through April 4. At that point, the company furloughed store associates, but kept on store managers and assistant managers. The management teams have continued the Cos Bar clienteling model during the coronavirus crisis, including executing curbside pickup.

Garfield reports the majority of phone orders for curbside are transactional, with customers replenishing staples. He says, “We’ve been hearing interest in newness start to percolate, but, for the most part over the past eight weeks, it’s been almost entirely replenishing, especially within skincare. Natura Bisse, La Mer [and] Sisley have been performing very well for us. Westman Atelier on the makeup side is still maintaining great momentum [and] Augustinus Bader also, which is in our top five brands.” 

Nearly 60 of Bluemercury’s 171 stores are participating in contactless curbside pickup as of this week. The retailer’s goal is to have curbside operable at least at 100 of its doors by the end of May. Most curbside orders are being placed by existing clients replenishing skincare, though Bluemercury co-founder Marla Beck says that haircare is a strong category for the retailer as well. Beck adds that other popular purchases have been color cosmetics for the eyes.

“With everyone wearing a mask now, that’s a focal point: eyeliner, brows, mascara, eyeshadow. [It’s about,] ‘How do I make my eyes look big?’ There’s obviously very little lipstick for that reason, too,” she says, remarking clean beauty is a stronger performer for Bluemercury. The retailer carries clean ranges spanning its subcategories. It’s clean beauty brands includes skin and bodycare specialist Indie Lee, color line RMS Beauty, haircare brand Rahua, and bodycare, skincare and candle brand Costa Brazil. 

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Bluemercury created custom face shields for its store employees executing curbside pickup.

Beck co-founded Bluemercury in 1999 with her husband Barry. In 2015, the then 60-door chain was acquired by Macy’s for approximately $210 million in cash. The specialty retailer was in the news last month when WWD reported that Macy’s was trying to unload the business in March, prior to pandemic-related store closings.

At Cos Bar, some store managers are doing local delivery, dropping off phone orders at customers’ homes, but the majority of the chain’s sales are happening online, often after customers are in touch with their local stores as a result of employee outreach. Garfield wouldn’t share current sales figures for Cos Bar’s retail locations, but reported that, by the second week of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., Cos Bar’s e-commerce business was up over 200% year-over-year. 

“I think everyone anticipated things going to zero, so that’s been tremendous for us,” he says, adding that retail revenue has been integral to the company as well. “But, if that’s all we had, we wouldn’t have the business options on the table that we have today. Our first decision in all of this has been: How do we keep our people? So, the fact that our store managers and assistant managers have been productive [has] been a saving grace for us to be able to maintain everybody in the office as well as our store managers. We’re very pleased with where we are and this inflow of revenue.”

A live-chat feature on Cos Bar’s e-commerce site has given it a sales boost. It allows customers to connect with managers and educated salespeople in real time. Launched on April 15, Garfield reveals that “over the past month, it’s performed exceptionally well. Our conversion rates are six to eight times higher, and our AOV [average order value] is materially higher than what we’ve been doing.” 

Clean beauty chain Credo Beauty has seen similar success with on-site live chat, which it launched in late 2018 through a partnership with Hero. When the option to offer curbside service at select Credo locations became possible, the executive team asked for volunteers from its 56-person field staff. Both those staffers dedicated to retail doors and those not dedicated to them were soon busy responding to customer inquiries coming through Hero.

What started for Credo as an experiment has become, according to co-founder Annie Jackson, “a very integral part of our business given what’s happening. We’ve been able to redeploy our entire store staff. We haven’t furloughed anyone. We thank our lucky stars that we are a size that can manage that with 56 people out in the field.” Jackson says that orders originating through Hero have become 15% of Credo’s overall business and average order value has increased by about $25 from where it was pre-pandemic on Hero.

Credo has opened its Chicago, Los Angeles and Plano, Tex., stores for curbside pickup in the past two weeks, with reduced store hours of Thursday through Sunday only. Jackson says the curbside process is evolving, starting with the store teams using foot traffic and their clientele lists to generate orders in addition to emails sent out to Credo’s entire database. This week, Jackson hopes to integrate BOPIS in the curbside mix.

“You can be on Credo’s website, put the items you were looking for in your cart and be messaged along the way that this is available for pickup in the Chicago store, LA or Plano or wherever [is close to you based on] your zip code,” details Jackson. “You can place the order online, go to the store and text the store when you’re outside.” A staff member receives customer texts and puts orders on a hook setup outside of the store. 

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“We have a lot of prep work on our side,” says Credo co-founder Annie Jackson of reopening retail stores. “We need to get everybody masks and gloves. We have to have the stores deep cleaned, have a whole hygiene protocol. We’ve got to have education around it. Curbside has been a nice way to ease into it.”

Staff education has been essential to executing this blend of physical and digital selling as many of Credo’s field sales force are new to the latter. “They’re learning a lot because digital is so different,” acknowledges Jackson. “You can say, ‘Hey guys, an email’s dropping tomorrow, and it’s about this and here’s the sell sheets, here’s a couple selling tips, and we’re going to send gratis.’ You’re able to be more specific and quick. As a small team, when we’re managing stores or anything else, it’s more challenging. We’ve gotten much more fast and adaptable having just the digital channel.” Jackson notes that, last month, omnichannel and new customers have “exponentially increased, which we’re excited about. In early March, we weren’t there. April was really a game changer for us.”

Immediately after closing stores in March, Bluemercury transitioned to virtual client consultations, which were met with a huge customer response. “You could make an appointment with a beauty expert for help, even as you were making your internet order,” says Beck. “Clients could be home behind their computer and talking to an expert from Bluemercury. That personal touch has always been part of who we are and what we do.” During the time when stores are shut for normal business, the personal touch is taking the form of phone-based curbside orders.

“We get a lot of consultative questions, which is one reason we opened up phone-based curbside, so that we could talk,” says Beck. “I don’t think people just want to have an antiseptic order. They rely on the expertise of our beauty experts.” She mentions Bluemercury’s curbside efforts are buttressed by the street locations of most of the stores. Beck says, “Because they’re not in malls, it’s very easy to do curbside. You call up, and we put it in your trunk for you. Also, because we’re in their neighborhoods, they know us. People are out and about walking, so we see foot traffic. People are interested in supporting the community. That’s really a nice feature.”

“We get a lot of consultative questions, which is one reason we opened up phone-based curbside, so that we could talk. I don’t think people just want to have an antiseptic order. They rely on the expertise of our beauty experts.”

Bluemercury, Cos Bar and Credo view curbside pickup as the initial phase of their retail reopening strategies, multifaceted plans that will largely be dependent on state governance for execution. “Our three phases are curbside, limited capacity is phase two and, then, normal, whatever that is,” says Jackson. “Limited capacity, we would expect some time in the end of June, early July, but we have no idea. Nobody does.” In the face of uncertainty, Jackson says the robust business Credo registered in April and May keep her optimistic about the future. “Safety and health is top of mind now more than ever to customers,” says Jackson. “We feel that the founders out there formulating the right way are going to come out on top.”

Beck is hopeful amidst the uncertainty, betting on the relationship-based model of beauty selling to keep retail vigorous post-coronavirus. “Until we have a vaccine or feel like this is contained, it’s going to be a very different industry, but one which is full of people that are interested in helping each other,” she enthuses. “It’s an industry that’s very passionate with a client that’s passionate about looking for and finding the right products. This industry is so much about self-care and self-confidence. It’s going to be strong throughout this. It will just be different.”