Macy's is debuting a new self-serve beauty department in select stores around the country. The concept, which coexists with beauty counters, showcases aisle displays of smaller brands, many of which are entering Macy's for the first time.
According to a report in Women's Wear Daily, the assisted,
open-sell concept, called Impulse Beauty, is currently in around 15 locations
although plans call for another 40 by the close of the year.
The most distinctive feature of the roughly 1,000 square-foot concept, according to the report, is a series of black gondolas with white lettering identifying each category. Brands within the concept include Smashbox Cosmetics, Laura Geller, Laura Mercier, Dior, Stila, H20 Plus Products, Philosophy and Bliss. An aisle labeled "skin care" features StriVectin, Hylexin, Cosmedicine and MD Skincare. A few hair care brands such as Frederic Fekkai are also included.
The concept allows smaller brands to gain a presence inside a department store at a lower cost since Macy's funds the employee staffing the sections. Margins for the beauty brands are somewhat lower than traditional in-store cosmetic counter shops.
But observers also told the fashion trade paper that Macy's Impulse represents a response to a growing crop of open-sell beauty retailers, ranging from Sephora to Ulta as well as more upscale pushes by the mass market, such CVS Pharmacy's Beauty 360 and Duane Reade's Look Boutique. Shoppers are also buying more beauty products online and through home shopping channels.
"Its customer has been leaving Macy's to buy cosmetics in other places," one executive, who distributes to Impulse Beauty, told Women's Wear Daily. "What used to be alternative [distribution] is now mainstream. The boundaries have become blurred because the customers' shopping habits have changed so much. Everyone is shopping everywhere."
Discussion Questions: Should department stores offer more self-service options within their beauty departments? What do you think of Macy's Impulse Beauty? In what other ways might department stores reinvent beauty departments to better serve consumers and ward off competitive threats?