Amazon Eyes Further Growth in Prestige Via Brand Partnerships
While Amazon is well established in the prestige segment, the online giant sees a further opportunity to grow. During the WWD Beauty CEO Summit, Melis del Rey, Amazon general manager of U.S. stores, beauty, baby and beauty technology, said the company is taking its Premium Beauty business to the next level via brand partnerships.
Del Rey also said the company has been building up the category to give customers a luxury experience through beauty technology.
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In a conversation with Jenny B. Fine, executive editor, beauty, of WWD and Beauty Inc, del Rey said with over two decades of beauty experience, she is leading the charge to make Amazon Premium Beauty an industry leader and within the beauty tech domain. Amazon currently sees about 100 million unique beauty shoppers a month and holds 12 percent of the prestige beauty market share. Del Rey said the pandemic accelerated consumer interest in the category — especially with their extremely loyal customer base.
On the technology side, del Rey said the main objectives are focused on three things. “One is reinventing immersive technologies. We offer virtual try-ons and skin diagnostics, which we want to take to the next level. Secondly, it’s all about personalization. Without personalization, beauty experiences are not fully utilized. Lastly, we want to elevate our experiences. It’s important for Amazon to recognize the importance of premium shopping and what that means for our customers and our brand partners,” she said. As an example, she showed the brand shop for Lancôme, which recently launched on the platform.
Del Rey told the audience that Amazon aims to inspire customers with unique experiences and, through AR and VR technology, has provided an important way for customers to shop online and a way to do product evaluations. The company wants to “enable not just inspiration, and it’s a way for us to provide unlimited products that we offer,” said del Rey. “Whether it’s everyday beauty or its consumer beauty, we are committed to that mission.”
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