Case Study: Digital Transformation in Beauty Retail

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail, Digital Transformation stands at the helm of change, acting as a beacon for retailers navigating the tumultuous waves of e-commerce and traditional brick-and-mortar establishments. Leading the way in merging the best of both worlds is Douglas, a premium beauty retailer with a rich history and a clear vision for the future. This case study dives deep into how Douglas has pioneered its digital transformation, with a specific lens on scalability, innovation, and the customer experience.

The Challenge

Douglas, a household name in the beauty industry, has over 2,000 stores across Europe and offers more than 130,000 products, spanning its online channels, beauty marketplace, and physical stores. Their challenge lay in the complex intricacy of price management across this vast expanse. Multiplied by the myriad of products and numerous stores, this resulted in a staggering number of price points. Traditionally, Douglas used paper labels and posters, a method that not only seemed archaic but also inefficient and not environmentally friendly.

The Objectives

Douglas aimed to:

1. Efficiently manage thousands of price points.
2. Streamline operational tasks, freeing Beauty Consultants to focus on delivering top-tier services.
3. Bring interactive digital media into their physical stores to augment the customer experience.

Newton Touch

The Solution

Enter SOLUM’s Newton Electronic Shelf Labels and Newton TOUCH – a digital transformation tool that bridges the divide between physical and online retail experiences. This innovation allowed Douglas to execute dynamic pricing strategies, with the ability to change product prices at specific intervals, maximising their profit potential. Moreover, the interactive LCD of Newton TOUCH endowed customers with the capacity to directly engage with products, gathering information with simple gestures like tapping or swiping. This also yielded valuable customer data for Douglas to refine their marketing strategies. The Newton TOUCH units, mainly installed in the cosmetics section, enabled Douglas to animate their marketing campaigns, attracting more customers to linger and immerse themselves in the in-store experience.

SoluM Newton ESL

The Results

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. For Douglas’s retail operations team, the system seemed almost too good to be true, with easy onboarding thanks to the intuitive nature of the app. The Munich flagship store, with its integration of all the digital projects, stands as a testament to the potential of SOLUM’s technology. Digital tools like Newton TOUCH have not only enhanced Douglas’s in-store promotional efforts but also played a pivotal role in amalgamating the strengths of e-commerce with physical retail. The innovative dashboard ensures real-time updates on price changes, with alerts in case of discrepancies, ensuring seamless operations. Using Aims SaaS, Douglas found the scalability they sought, allowing for quick expansion if the need arose. This showcases the flexibility of the system and its ability to grow in tandem with a business’s needs.

Conclusion

The crux of innovation in the retail sphere is the need to remain abreast with shifting paradigms. As the balance tips towards e-commerce, it’s imperative for retailers to bolster their traditional establishments with digital tools, ensuring they remain relevant and enticing for customers. Douglas’s foray into such a digital transformation underscores the importance of offering a holistic customer experience, one that seamlessly integrates the best aspects of both online and offline retail. In doing so, they not only set a benchmark for the beauty retail industry but also chart a course for others to follow.

Discover more

SoluM

RTS | Retail IT Execution