Dramatic cat eyes and red lips may not be an everyday look for most beauty product consumers who often rotate cosmetics and shades by season, event and even mood. But skin care is part of the typical woman’s daily regimen. So, when the digital team at beauty brand e.l.f. Cosmetics Inc. was prioritizing items on its wishlist for improving site personalization, it made sense to start there.

“Our thought was skin care is a very personal category, and you really don’t change it up much,” says Ekta Chopra, vice president of digital at the 16-year-old company. “Plus, we were seeing a lot of growth in that segment, so the question became, ‘How do we use this as a lever to connect with our consumers and create longer-term relationships with them?’ That can only come once you know more about each individual person.”

Enter the skin care finder tool.

In April, e.l.f. launched a quiz on its ecommerce site to guide shoppers to the products that best fit their needs. A message on the landing page encourages visitors to help the brand match them with the right items: “Find your skin care: We want to help you discover what works for you and your skin! Answer the questions below, and we’ll recommend product with your top concerns in mind.”

Visitors are asked a series of questions for the site to determine their age range; preferred look (natural, trendy, full face, pro or don’t wear makeup); product needs (cleanser, moisturizer, treatment, mask or full routine); skin type (normal, oily, dry or combination); and skin concern (acne, aging skin, dull and uneven skin tone, dry skin, large pores or redness and inflammation). After a consumer enters all five answers and hits the “get my results” button, she is taken to a page that reads, “Your simple regimen: Based on your answers, here’s what we recommend” with thumbnails of products tailored to her requirements along with prices and an “add all to bag” button.

The brand has been stunned by the “crazy success” of the feature…

 

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