How did Clarins Hong Kong excel during the holiday seasons?

After two years of COVID-19, we are now heading towards a new norm. The pandemic has caused many uncertainties and a dramatic shift in consumers behaviour, resulting in unprecedented challenges for the beauty industry. According to McKinsey, 30% to 60% of customers across countries showed the intent of shifting shopping behaviour from offline to online in the post-COVID era.

In light of this, Clarins, a global beauty brand, is committed to maintaining its position in the industry by establishing its own eCommerce shop to discover more potential and valuable shoppers among its main target audience: women over 25. Clarins faced the challenge of reaching more valuable online shoppers whose attention span has shortened in an increasingly crowded online shopping market. Furthermore, Clarins hoped to maximise revenue from existing campaigns without offering sitewide discounts, which could harm its brand image.

Clarins collaborated with Appier and Assembly to adopt real-time MarTech tools to improve the customer prospecting approach and enhance the conversion rate of online transactions. First, Clarins adopted CrossX’s AI technology to analyse existing customers’ interests and behaviours. CrossX identified the high-value shoppers, allowing the company to scale up their campaigns accordingly. Once Clarins identified its valuable target segment, it was able to display campaign ads only to this customer segment that is likely to purchase. 

To convert more online visitors into shoppers, Clarins implemented AiDeal, a solution that predicts shoppers’ purchase intent by capturing behavioural data and calculating each user's hesitancy level. AiDeal assisted Clarins in presenting a pop-up with a time-limited special gift promotion instead of a discount promotion to entice hesitant buyers to purchase. Clarins was able to maintain its image as a luxury brand by using special gifts rather than discounts.

“In general, AI is useful, but sometimes it requires more practical and more scenario-based explanations and applications. To Clarins, AI initially seemed to be a topic that those who do not have a technical background would never understand. However, with Appier’s AI-powered solutions, Clarins was able to easily engage with the right target audiences at the right moment with the right promotional messages,” said Caroline Andreutti, digital, eCommerce & CRM director of Clarins. 

“The crowded and competitive environment of the beauty and skincare category meant that we needed a more targeted strategy for Clarins to deliver an enhanced shopping experience for its customers. Appier’s AI solutions allowed us to better design our media touchpoints that delivered a more customised and personal experience,” said Karen Fu, digital director of Assembly.

By partnering with Appier and Assembly, Clarins reduced the CPA of its campaigns by 30%, and increased CVR by 44%. Most importantly, Clarins was able to warm up purchase intent before Double 11, boost CVR during two major holidays (Double 11 and Christmas) and continue momentum after the big sales seasons by adopting Appier’s AI solutions - CrossX and AiDeal. Clarins was also named the Bronze Winner of the Best Use of Real-time Marketing at the Markies Awards 2022. 

The article is sponsored by Appier.