GOALS
Measure offline impact of digital campaigns
Get full view of the customer journey
Improve cost efficiency
APPROACH
Used Google Marketing Platform to integrate and analyze data
Used loyalty cards to match in-store purchases with online transaction
RESULTS
3.9X higher ROAS
3X increase in conversion rates
13% uplift in average in-store order value (if customer visited the Sephora website less than one day prior to purchase)
Today’s beauty consumers often hit several touchpoints throughout their purchase journeys. They might search for beauty products on their smartphones, watch product reviews or how-to videos on YouTube, or even go to a store to sample a product in person before making a purchase decision. The complex decision-making journeys consumers make as they move between online and offline channels present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for brands and marketers.
Founded in 1969, beauty giant Sephora operates 2,300 stores in more than 30 countries around the world, including 17 stores in Singapore and Greater Southeast Asia. The brand’s digital team was confident that its efforts were driving store visits, but it had no way to prove the offline impact of its online ads. Looking to better understand the purchase journeys of its loyal customers, Sephora turned to Analytics 360.
Clarifying the purchase journey with Analytics 360
The key to bridging the gap was Sephora’s customer loyalty program. The brand worked with the Google account team to integrate and analyze data across in-store purchases and online transactions. Using Google Marketing Platform,1 the team was able to see from a specific Google Ads2 campaign level which loyalty members made purchases both on the Sephora website and at brick-and-mortar locations.
“We decided to start sending our offline purchases to our Analytics 360 account to connect these purchases to existing journeys,” said Adrien Eudes, head of data at Sephora SEA. “This illuminated which online research pathways finally led to a sale, whether online or offline.”
Measuring the full impact of its digital marketing investments
These tools helped Sephora’s digital team identify a clear trend: 70% of customers who had visited the Sephora website before buying in-store did so within 24 hours of purchase. Additionally, more than half of these visitors were on mobile. This helped Sephora understand that measuring success based purely on online conversions on its website didn’t tell the full story.
Indeed, when in-store sales were included in the path to purchase, Sephora saw a 3.9X higher ROAS and a 3X increase in conversion rates from their digital ads. And if customers visited the Sephora website less than one day prior to purchase, there was a 13% on-average uplift in their in-store order values.
“This system integration was a huge success for us. We’ve turned it into an ongoing CRM integration for all of our systems across Southeast Asia and Australia,” said Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, managing director at Sephora Digital SEA.
Analytics 360 has helped Sephora achieve a holistic and comprehensive view of the customer journey, allowing it to see the full impact of its digital efforts. The brand is currently developing plans to reengage customers who shop offline by retargeting them on digital.
