Makeup is easy when you have Birchbox. Birchbox is an online monthly subscription service that sends its subscribers a box every month containing makeup samples. It’s an innovative e-commerce idea that locks customer’s preference inside a box.
The beginning
Birchbox started its journey in the year 2010. Even though a unisex service, during the initial years, it was only for women. The subscription services for men wasn’t allowed till April 2012. Like every other entrepreneurial venture, Birchbox started small. But now it has more than 800000 active subscribers all over the world.
Why Birchbox is fun?
It’s just like regular shopping, only there’s a computer screen between you and the items. But that doesn’t spoil the fun, rather increases it tenfold. Like every other e-commerce outlets, Birchbox brings beauty shopping to your living room. You don’t have to go outside. You can shop from within the four walls.
Just pause for a moment, and imagine how huge their collection is. They are sending a box full of makeup related stuff to 800000 household a month. On top of that, subscribers are completely free to pick whatever fascinates them the most. The options are a curated box and a single sample choice.
The fee structure
If you think the subscription fee would burn a hole in your wallet, then you are wrong. One reason behind the popularity of Birchbox is the uber-affordable fee. A woman needs to pay only $10 to be a member of Birchbox while for a man, the fee is $20. There’s no hidden cost and the shipping is totally free of cost.
Subscriber’s preferences
I mentioned already that Birchbox offers its customers a customized experience by tailoring each single box in accordance with their choice. Now, among 800K people, each has a unique choice, and figuring out what that is is a time consuming job.
Birchbox simplified this process by providing a questionnaire to the subscribers in the beginning. Subscribers can change the entries in the questionnaire later if they don’t like the products shipped to them. Allowing subscribers to modify according to individual preferences prevent products from getting wasted. It also keeps them satisfied. Hence, it’s a great strategy.
Coupons and discounts
Coupon codes are extremely popular in the e-commerce circuit. If you are a Birchbox subscriber, you can enjoy discounts if you buy with a coupon code. Below, you can find examples of discounts:
Example1: The subscribers gets 10% off on $35 worth full size products on the first order. People, who availed this discount said they saved $4-$10 on products like oribe, body oil, perfume, etc.
Example2: The subscriber gets a free Mystery Sample Pack with $35+ worth full size product purchases. Here’s the link to the offer. Some consumers reported that they saved $10 on two Mystery Pack samples.
Such offers have more than 30% of success rate, which is good for the brand.
Brand engagement
This is the era of branding and brand engagement is the prerequisite for any kind of success in it. Brand engagement depends on interacting with customers and collecting feedback from them.
Birchbox seems to be quite serious on this front. On their website, they allow customers to rate offers and review those offers. This is an honest attempt made by a brand to know what customers are thinking about it.
Subscribers can rate an offer out of five. They can also click on any of the four categories, which are “Most Helpful”, “Most Recent”, “Highest Rated”, “Lowest Rated.” This type of transparency invites problem for brands. One subscribers wrote in the comment that the product quality was a letdown and also deceptive, and 142 out of 150 found that comment helpful. That being said, subscribers may ignore minor slip-ups but they are not unwilling to compromise with transparency.
Worth buying?
The advantages of joining Birchbox includes products based on preferences, attractive discounts, a laundry-list of products, etc. As for the downsides, there could be shipping issues and delivery problems. But all these problems commonly apply to almost all e-commerce brands out there.
The exclusivity
What’s great about Birchbox is there’s no other brand like it. No beauty and makeup brand sends makeup items to customers based on their personalized preferences. Birchbox co-founder Katia Beauchamp said “The dream was based on…who wouldn’t want that?”
She turned her dream into reality. The company grew from a 600 monthly subscriber-base to 800000 monthly subscribers and is still growing. Hence, if you want to save money and join the community, subscribe to Birchbox.