Online retailing continues to dominate the beauty market, with US L’Oréal Professional taking advantage of this in its recent partnership with salon platform, StyleSeat. While currently only available in the US, the site shows how the beauty giant continues to make moves to stay one step ahead of its competitors.
The partnership with StyleSeat will see micro e-commerce sites developed that will allow salons to sell L’Oréal Professional products online for the first time. StyleSeat is a free web and mobile platform that allows salons to track their clients and customers to book appointments, while also showcasing the salons’ work with online portfolios.
The partnership will include all L’Oréal Professional Products Division brands, such as Kérastase, Redken, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, and essie Professional. Each brand's existing tools will be customised on StyleSeat, with branding elements additional on the site. L’Oréal Professional and StyleSeat will also offer salons their own micro e-commerce sites so that salons have the opportunity to sell directly to their clients.
[This collaboration is] an opportunity to look at the way salons engage with consumers,” president of L’Oréal USA Professional Products Division Pat Parenty told WWD. Looking at the way consumers have changed in their path of purchase and the way they get their products and services, we thought that something was missing. The issue was a little bit behind in engaging at the digital level.”
We want to make sure that [salons] have a solution digitally,” adds Parenty. Because it’s not just e-commerce, it’s about what it is to have a really digitally engaged consumer. [We want to help] them meet the new needs of the marketplace.”
