Ch. 15 - Retailing

 

Lush Cosmetics Store

529 Broadway, New York, NY 

10012







     The Experience: I recently visited to the Lush store location in SoHo, where I have visited many times and where I've spent most of my Christmas money. Going to Lush is like second nature to me, I have been there so frequently, I thought it'd be an odd experience having to take mental note of things that would be relevant to this week's blog post. As soon as I smelled the inviting scent, a scent that would excite every true "Lushie," I realized that Lush's store experience is so unique that almost everything is relevant to the post.

Maya, a sales associate, on the right.

     As I entered the luminous, vibrant store, I was immediately greeted by Maya, who knew my name, and welcomed me back. She then asked me if I had seen the season finale of "Girls," a show on HBO, which we had previously bonded over about a month ago. After discussing our disappointments with the finale, she asked me how school was going and asked me specifically about my marketing blog, another thing we discussed over a month ago. Afterwards, I asked her how the blog she was writing for her mass media class was going- not out of politeness, but out of genuine curiosity. She explained to me how her professor had suggested to the class for them to be intoxicated while writing their last blog post. This lead to a conversation about the weirdest teachers we've ever had; mine, a professor who had OCD and was a germaphobe and wouldn't tell anyone, hers was a teacher from high school who claimed to be a robot, talked to the ceiling, and called the women in the class "maaam."
     It had been 15 minutes before she actually asked me what I was looking for. I told her I was looking for a new face cleanser and as always they asked me to describe the problems with my skin which I completely feel comfortable doing by now. Maya then suggested the product "Angels on Bare Skin" which she thought best suited my skin problems. She told me every ingredient that would help my problem areas with my skin and proceeded to tell me why it was one of her favorite products. I was fully convinced and purchased it (and I'm completely satisfied).

     The Analysis: Lush Cosmetics is apart of a chain meaning every store is under the same ownership and is pretty much run the same. Lush focuses on relationship marketing which is why one of the sales associates knows my name, where I go to school, my interests and hobbies and vice versa. This makes the vibe for returning customers extremely relaxing and more willing to purchase new merchandise.They encourage their employees to spend as much time with one customer as possible, in some cases even a half an hour or more with the customer. When I first started shopping at Lush I was there for almost an hour because they showed me every line of products, what they did, and which were their personal favorites, as well as gave me some free samples in order to make sure I would be satisfied with my final purchase. Lush is a specialty store, which specializes in bath/skin-care, so their employees are very knowledgeable of all the products and thus make the customers feel completely reassured when they make their purchases.
     The atmosphere of Lush stores are very bright and inviting, which is congruent to the company's relationship marketing strategy. The employee type is not dictated by physical characteristics in Lush. A Lush staff is possibly one of the most diverse work environments. In a Lush based in Union Square, I've been helped by a transgender woman and in their SoHo location, I've also been helped by a man who enjoyed wearing lipstick and eyeliner. This is no stuffy, corporate work environment which helps every customer feel comfortable enough to disclose their skin problems in order to get the staff's sagely advice on which products to buy.
     Most of the fixtures in the store are wooden. I believe this helps reassure customers that they are buying organic products because of the mother nature feel to the store. Consistency in a company is makes customers feel as if they know the company better and are confident in what they buy.
     The music played in the store in typically Top 40, popular music. This helps bring in the Generation Y, since that generation is most likely to consume pop music. It also gives a modern feel to the store, which makes organic products feel more fun. Hearing people preach about the benefits of organic products and animal rights can become rather drab without an upbeat song playing in the background.
     Lastly, as mentioned in the beginning of my experience of visiting a Lush store, the odor of Lush's stores is one of its strongest elements. The aroma of a Lush store can be smelled from down the block, which also contributes to Lush's brand recognition. Studies have shown that odors can either stimulate or impede sales. When an agreeable odor is present in a store, shoppers are generally in a better mood and will shop for longer. Lush's signature odor of happiness, is a large contributor to the come company's success and customers being satisfied.

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

     Why do consumers choose Lush Cosmetics' products over others? This is simply because it so strongly appeals to the the consumers' process of buying a product. Need recognition is the first and one of the most important steps in the consumer decision-making process. Of course people of all cultures and social backgrounds will have different ideas of what a "need" is, however Lush Cosmetics' products are so universal it appeals to a large variety consumers. Unlike centuries ago when body odor was perceived as acceptable and the norm, many cultures today believe that it is something to be ashamed of and hide. In most cultures today, it is common for one to bathe frequently. In North America, cleanliness is taken to an extreme  most likely due to advertisers of the late 50's and early 60's using the "bandwagon appeal" to sell bath products. Some ads would tell teenage girls that they wouldn't be popular or get a second date without buying products like deodorant. It is because of the advertisers exploiting humans' desire to belong and fit in with society, that today people wash their body and hair everyday, despite it being scientifically proven that daily cleansing isn't as healthy as Westerners believe it to be. Since Lush Cosmetics' makes and sells bath products, it is automatically recognized as a need to consumers, especially those in North America. (Even though people by definition soap and other bath products aren't considered an actual need.)
     After identifying a product as a need (or want), a consumer then conducts an information search to fully understand the product and why they would buy it. Usually an internal search would come first. The consumer tries to remember all past experiences with the company, product, service, etc. or remember a friend or family member's review of such product or perhaps an online review of the product. These would be considered nonmarketing-controlled information sources (information source about a product that is not associated with the advertising or promotion of such product). It is because Lush Cosmetics does not have an advertising department, Lush depends on their loyal customers to spread the word to their friends, family, coworkers, etc. It is because of this that consumers make purchases at Lush because of their nonmarketing-controlled information sources telling them which products are "good."
     After gathering all of the information they have received about Lush and their products, the consumers must evaluate their alternatives. Due to the price range of Lush products, some consumers may choose to pass on their products, however it is because Lush's products are associated with organic, green marketing, and ethical treatment of animals that many consumers will pay the extra money for they know it is morally responsible to buy those products instead of cheaper ones that are tested on animals and cause environmental damage. Consumers are driven to purchase Lush Cosmetics' products because of culture and values. Lush is able to thrive due to the ever progressive environmentally conscious culture of today.
   
      

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

     Lush Cosmetics surely has a global vision seeing as the company takes full advantage of the different marketing opportunities for target markets in the 40 plus countries that it operates. This can be seen by the different products displayed on the homepages of each country's personalized Lush websites (as shown below). 

Different Lush Cosmetics websites for each country they operate in.

     On the Lush homepage for USA, a month prior to Mother's Day, their new Mother's Day products will be heavily featured on USA's particular website. This is because Lush Cosmetics obviously recognizes how commercialized holidays in the United States are and thus push certain products that relate to the holiday because Americans are more likely to buy these products at such time. On the Lush website designed specifically for Canada, they feature a massage bar named "Under the Covers" because of a show called "Undercover Boss Canada" where Brandi Halls, Director of Brand Communications, infiltrates and investigates the marketing practices of Lush Cosmetics. Lush notes that this show will attract a lot of attention to its stores in Canada and thus created a limited edition product that targets the viewers of the show. In the UK, Lush Cosmetics just opened two new spa locations in Edinburgh and Liverpool and features videos of spa treatments there. This obviously targets only the people in these specific locations which shows Lush Cosmetics is mindful of their global marketing techniques.

Lush Cosmetics' Solid Shampoos

     Lush Cosmetics has made great strides in their company to achieve global marketing standardization. There are select products that are sold only in certain countries, however many of their product lines are the same in all of the countries they operate in. One product line that remains unchanged in every country is the Solid Shampoo line. The Solid Shampoo, a Lush original invention, is a non-liquid shampoo that lathers and cleans like normal shampoo. Since it is a solid product, customers may take it on a plane when they can't take liquid products like normal shampoo. It is because of the versatility and informativeness of this product that it is able to survive in a worldwide market. Another product that must be recognized while discussing Lush Cosmetics' global marketing standardization, is their Dream Cream. Dream Cream is a lotion composed of oat milk, olive oil, and cocoa butter. It is Lush's number one product worldwide. This is undoubtedly because of the wide range of target marketers that would buy this product. It attracts the component lifestyles of vegetarians and vegans because of its vegan ingredients. It attracts people with eczema because it has been known to soothe it. Lastly, it attracts people with every skin type because it is gentle enough to be applied to even the most irritable skin. It is because of Lush's innovative products that Lush Cosmetics is able to sell a majority of their products worldwide. 

Lush Cosmetics' Dream Cream