Smashbox Cosmetics Case Study

Smashbox Cosmetics has a glamorous Hollywood edge tied in directly with their world famous Smashbox Photo Studios in Los Angeles. When they wanted a website with the chops to take the brand and direct channel sales to new heights, they turned to WebLinc.

Smashbox.com is sassy, intimate, and full of brilliant revenue-generating activities built upon WebLinc's leading edge eCommerce solution. Aside from eCommerce staples such as cross-sells, wish lists and merchandising on the fly, Smashbox.com offers a wealth of features and functionality focused on the fashion-forward 18- to 35-year-old female.

For instance, knowing that women often use their lunch hour to shop, a weekly "Let's Do Lunch" feature promotes a time-sensitive weekly special to create a sense of urgency toward purchase. It not only succeeded in increasing immediate sales, but also encourages regular return traffic.

Application tips by makeup pros explain how exactly to achieve desired effects; click on the bold product names in the articles to drop directly into a purchasing page featuring just those cosmetics. Cross-selling, up-selling, tell-a-friend and other elements build the sale in ways that feel comfortable -- and make buying complimentary products easy.

A particularly intimate feature is the interactive Personal Makeup Artist, where a woman can build her own virtual face, selecting the shape of face, eyes, and lips; choosing skin tones and types; and picking out eye and hair colors. Once defined, as the shopper browses the site The Personal Makeup Artist then suggests and highlights a range of appropriate products and supplies tips for using them to acquire sleek, gorgeous looks based upon a tailored assortment of product.

At the back end, Smashbox uses the WebLinc Direct eCommerce solution coupled with WebLinc's tailored customer service package to allow internal staff to handle all critical aspects from returns, to new phone orders to settlement.