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.