Sephora birthday gift illustration
Photo: Sephora

Is Sephora Ruining Its ‘Free Birthday Gift’ Perk?

Sephora will soon require members of its Beauty Insider loyalty program to spend a minimum of $25 online to have their “Free Birthday Gift” mailed to them. Otherwise, they can claim the gift in-store with no purchase requirement.

The change led to some backlash on social media although some respondents misunderstood the new policy, not realizing that the gift could still be attained in person in Sephora stores or Sephora shops inside Kohl’s with no extra purchase.

Sephora also noted in response to social media pushback that it “always required a merchandise purchase for clients to redeem their birthday gift online” while stressing the no-purchase option for in-store redemption.

“The new online policy updates are part of our ongoing process to evaluate our current offerings to ensure we remain competitive, and more importantly maximize the ways in which we can continue to offer our clients the perks they’ve known and come to expect from us,” a Sephora Canada spokesperson told CTV News Toronto in a statement.

Sephora’s popular “Free Birthday Gift” comes regardless of the member’s spending limit, can be accessed at any point during their birthday month and packs some value. Members this year have a choice of five items, including small bottles of two Dior fragrances and full sizes of popular makeup items.

Sephora’s Rouge members (who spend over $1,000 in a calendar year) earn a higher-priced gift.

Competitor Ulta offers all rewards members a free gift plus double points on all purchases during their birthday month. Higher-tier Platinum and Diamond members also earn a $10 birthday coupon.

Many retailers offer coupons to reward members during birthday months. Victoria’s Secret’s new VS & PINK Collective loyalty program sends a $10 gift birthday coupon to All-Access members and a $15 card to VIP members.

Birthday gifts range from a 15 percent-off coupon for Tier 1 members to 25 percent for Tier 3 members under American Eagle Outfitters’ loyalty program. Macy’s and Kohl’s offer “Special” birthday gifts depending on member spend.

Birthday perks are even more popular at food establishments with offering free drinks, appetizers and desserts tied to members’ birthdays being a fairly common practice.

BrainTrust

"I support Sephora’s move but the execution of the new policy could have been better."

Liza Amlani

Principal and Founder, Retail Strategy Group


"Giving customers the option of picking up their birthday gift for free at a Sephora store or spending $25 in product to have it shipped with other goods seems fair to me."

Georganne Bender

Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking


"Be it a physical gift, a discount, or anything in between, customers should appreciate anything the retailer offers."

Shep Hyken

Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you support Sephora’s move to require loyalty members to spend a minimum of $25 for online redemption of their “Free Birthday Gift”? What’s your advice on how birthday perks should be optimally structured as part of retailer loyalty programs?

Poll

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Kevin Graff
Member
10 months ago

The “free” train has to come to end at some point. If your “member” hasn’t spent as little as $25, why should anyone expect them to ship you an item for free? You can’t be all things to all people without going broke.
It’s kind of like those people you know in your life that really aren’t a part of it. You aren’t about to send them a Christmas card, but if they were to stop by you’d pour them a drink. They invest in you, and you invest in them.

Liza Amlani
Active Member
10 months ago

I support Sephora’s move but the execution of the new policy could have been better.

The lack of clarity caused the backlash and Sephora should have done a better job in communicating that a free gift would still be given. This is a challenge that many retailers face. The cost of digital and online fulfillment is high and someone has to pay for it.

Gene Detroyer
Noble Member
10 months ago

“Sephora will soon require members of its Beauty Insider loyalty program to spend a minimum of $25 online to have their ‘Free Birthday Gift’ mailed to them.” Hmmm?

The definition of “free” is “without cost or payment.” The program as described raises questions. If I join in January and my birthday is in April and I buy $30 worth of product in May, I don’t receive a free gift? And what if I spend $500 across the year but not $25 before April? I don’t get my gift in the mail?

Are loyalty programs getting so complex that they are becoming meaningless? A loyalty program generates a customer’s loyalty without the customer thinking much about it. It creates a customer habit. It should never make the customer work to participate.

Georganne Bender
Noble Member
10 months ago

Giving customers the option of picking up their birthday gift for free at a Sephora store or spending $25 in product to have it shipped with other goods seems fair to me. It has to be expensive to ship those gifts. I wonder how Sephora polices this. Does the retailer automatically send the gifts to e-commerce shoppers? I am a member of Sephora’s loyalty club and have rarely, if ever, picked up my free gift. Nor has one been sent to me.

A special birthday coupon that can be used towards whatever you want, instead of something you might never use, makes more sense for all customers, especially those who shop online.

Jenn McMillen
Active Member
10 months ago

Sephora could’ve turned this into an aspirational play by making the free shipping of the gift available to their top tier Rouge members and the minimum purchase lower for the middle tier. Want the privileges? Then spend to get them.

David Slavick
Member
Reply to  Jenn McMillen
10 months ago

A bday gift…celebrate you as a member.

Cathy Hotka
Trusted Member
10 months ago

“Free shipping” isn’t free, and it’s a good thing that retailers are taking steps to preserve profits. And it only makes sense for Sephora to encourage in-person visits to stores.

Joan Treistman
Joan Treistman
Member
10 months ago

The question for discussion, as worded, doesn’t include “to have the gift mailed” to the member. I’ve been a member for years. I know that there is a free gift at birthday time, but I have never known it could be mailed to me. Given the lack of clarity going on, from my misunderstanding to the wording of today’s “discussion questions,” I think “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” And that could undermine any equity that Sephora has built with its birthday gift.

Shep Hyken
Active Member
10 months ago

This is business. Sephora is still offering the perk. It appears to be an issue of how it was presented to its customers. It is always hard to adjust a perk in a way that appears to go “backwards.” Be it a physical gift, a discount, or anything in between, customers should appreciate anything the retailer offers.

Rich Kizer
Member
10 months ago

The one thing I do know is that change is a tricky thing for customers accept. If there is a way to dent the store in the minds of customers, it is to make any store-related program slightly more complicated.

Neil Saunders
Famed Member
10 months ago

While some customers won’t welcome this, I don’t think this is an unreasonable move. People can still get their gift for free by visiting a store, it’s just online where they need to make a minimum purchase. While gifts tend to be smaller sample sizes of beauty products there is still a large cost attached to shipping them out!

David Slavick
Member
10 months ago

Everyone has a birthday and so equal value for all members is the best way to go. You are celebrating your program members special day. The response or “backlash” demonstrates the emotional connection members have to the brand. Sephora is a top of the chart program for many reasons – as shared, the modification was not their best moment in communication effectiveness. Good rule of tactical practice – give a bday benefit well in advance of that special day, do not allow bday in profile to be modified once entered, watch for multiple profiles with multiple bday entries to catch abuse. In Sephora’s case a “gift” drives future purchase via samples – it is brilliant vs. a discount but not all entities can do sampling. Don’t forget about anniversary gifts to celebrate a member joining a program with either a gift or a special gift card/e-gift card – a big winner in retail, apparel and HBA.

Patricia Vekich Waldron
Active Member
10 months ago

I look forward to my Birthday Gift, and usually make a trip to the store to redeem and browse. Making changes to these programs is a big risk to the goodwill they engender. Sephora’s communication of the change – which IMHO was really not a huge one – unfortunately put their whole program in a bad light.