Sephora

Serving Sephora patrons a more seamless, inclusive, and efficient in-store experience.
Role
team
advisors
Timeline
client
Researcher
Service Designer
Hillary Soletic
Ashley Ma
Esther Lin
Suri Namkoung
Marshall Sitten
Sept-Dec 2021
Sephora Union Square
overview
Sephora is deservedly the makeup mecca–a one-stop shop for everything beauty. To better showcase their services, we identified opportunities and solved to better bridge the gap between the in-store and digital experience at the Union Square location.
Responsibilities
  • Research
  • Prepare & Conduct Interviews
  • Synthesis
  • Ideation
Project summary

Problem & Solution

The approach

design process

For this project, we chose a service, determined its scope, conducted interviews, desk and field research to diagnose and identify opportunities for improvement. Upon completing prototypes, we planned for integration by testing for risk, viability and sustainability.
research

What's working

At the start of our diagnostic journey, we found it imperative to gauge what about the current offerings were working. Our initial 10 interviews shed light on what customers have come to expect from the brand.

Field Work tactics

We individually visited the store and observed customers at different times of day and different days of the week in order to gather the most thorough field work insights. We also utilized the secret shopper approach and engaged in discourse with makeup artists in doing so.

Stakeholders Involved

synthesis

Making sense of it all

Our interview insights were categorized around issues pertaining to the brick and mortar store, our in store observations, Covid-related troubles, customer pain points, and types of customers frequenting both online and in store.

customer types

From our interviews and observations we developed 7 types of shoppers:

User Journey map

Customer Pain points

From our field research and customer interviews, we recognized 3 reoccurring issues experienced while in-store:
01
Locating products
  1. Overwhelm upon entering the store
  2. Difficulty finding target products
  3. Unclear arrangements
  4. Difficulty comparing similar products
02
language barrier
  1. Non-English speaking customers feel hesitant to ask for help & have difficulty communicating their needs
  2. Clients struggle with makeup terminology
03
trust issues
  1. Customers don’t trust product reviews online
  2. Customers think makeup artists work on commissions and question recommendation intentions

Sephora Staff Pain Points

From field work, as well as our interview with the Union Square store manager, we recognized 3 underlying issues among Sephora employees:
01
Operations & Training
  1. Security issues
  2. Short-staffed
  3. Extensive time and labor costs required to train makeup–trained to be “generalists”
  4. Handheld device can be limiting when helping customers
02
Lack of Service Exposure
  1. Many customers don't know much about Sephora's in-store services and events
03
Continued Covid-19 Concerns
  1. Continued concerns about the cleanliness of testers and trying on makeup without masks
design

Service Blueprint

Co-Design with sephora

Based on our research synthesis, we held a co-design workshop with Jojo and Ryan, to prioritize pain points and explore solutions.

Most Important + Most Challenging Issues

Sephora staff
Customers
Both participants thought Sephora staff's pain points were of more importance, because customers' issues could be solved with the help of a makeup artist. But because Sephora staff sometimes struggles with being short-staffed or communicating with clients that speak other languages, makeup artists cannot always save the day.
synthesis

key insights & Solutions

01
Heavily relying on Makeup Artists for all customers’ needs
Lessen the burden on makeup artists
02
Mobile app is overloaded with features
Prioritize specific features helpful for in-store shopping
03
Continued Covid-19 Concerns
Establish & enforce COVID-19 safety guidelines
04
Lack of exposure for in-store services
Increase in-store service exposure
05
Lack of Brand Awareness
Increase brand awareness

Solutions

At the start of our diagnostic journey, we found it imperative to gauge what about the current offerings were working. Our initial 10 interviews shed light on what customers have come to expect from the brand.
01
AR In-Store Navigator
Step 1
  • Scan QR code at entrance
Step 2
  • View floor plan by category
  • View products in shopping cart via AR
Step 3
  • Search product & be guided to its location
  • View products from shopping cart marked on your route

02

a) Sephora Mobile App Current Flow

In restructuring the app flow, we made Buying Guides & Quizzes, Color IQ & Beauty Traits, and Language Support more accessible–providing users a more efficient and streamlined search.

B) Sephora Mobile App In-Store Guide

Opening the app in-store, users will be asked to enable Store Mode–which will link them to relevant features curated for shopping in person.

03

Covid-19 Safety Tips

Inform customers of the store's Covid-19 Safety Guidelines–and put hesitant ones at ease–located at tester stations.

04

Redeem Points for Services

Sephora's in-store services don't have enough exposure. To make services more discoverable, loyalty customers can toggle between samples, services, and charities when redeeming points.

05

Brand Campaign

In-depth conversation with Sephora staff revealed just how many services and products are taken for granted by customers, because of this, we created a brand identity campaign in the form of "Did You Know?", shown below in the form of a social media post.
design strategy

Updated User Journey Map

By utilizing our solutions, Olivia can scan the QR code at the store entrance to locate her target product––although her mood will still be down, because the app informs her the location doesn’t carry the product. By toggling her language to Korean, she can more efficiently find her new foundation through the Color IQ and compare products in the app.
Next steps

Making it a reality

In taking this project further our next steps would be as follows:
  1. Get feedback from Sephora on our potential ideas
  2. Learn more about what it takes to execute these ideas
  3. Iterate
  4. Pilot testing

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