SKINNEY Medspa is featured in Forbes magazine as one of the newest additions to Saks Fifth Avenue’s beauty space as it revamps it beauty department to reflect a new sales strategy and its new location on the second floor.
SKINNEY Medspa is featured in Forbes magazine as one of the newest additions to Saks Fifth Avenue. The renowned NYC skin and laser spa’s new Saks location is part of Sak’s “new beauty space on the second floor of their Fifth Avenue flagship in New York.”
In the article “Saks Fifth Avenue Rolls The Dice By Moving Beauty Department Off Ground Floor, Forbes explains, “Beauty counters have traditionally been on the ground floor of department stores to encourage impulse buys.” However, with Saks revamping and relocating of their beauty space, “that all changed.”
Forbes questions, “What drove Saks to move their beauty department to the second floor? Far from a banishment, this move shows that the decision-makers at Saks recognize their consumers now make impulse purchases online and want a shopping destination where they can relax, learn, test, and receive treatments.”
The “Experience:” the New Beauty Strategy of Brick and Mortar Businesses
This strategy follows the concepts demonstrated in a recent study by Accenture that found “Millennials actually prefer shopping in a brick and mortar than online.” However, when Millennials step into a physical store location, “They want experience” explains Forbes, and “won’t settle for the usual perfume spritzers and gatekeepers behind the counters. They want experience.”
Experience is what the new beauty space in Saks Fifth Avenue is all about. Forbes further illustrates, “When shoppers visit the new beauty floor, which Saks has dubbed Beauty on 2, they can expect a 32,000-square-foot space equipped with 15 spa treatment rooms and an 850-square-foot event space where Saks will host influencer workshops, master classes, public appearances, small private gatherings and visual installations.”
“Shoppers can melt fat with CoolSculpting at the Skinney Medspa.”
Adding to that experience, Forbes mentions that customers can receive a plethora of cosmetic services, adding, “Shoppers can melt fat with CoolSculpting at the Skinney MedSpa.” CoolSculpting is the #1 Non-invasive fat reduction treatment in the world and SKINNEY Medspa is the nation’s #1 provider of this non-surgical alternative to liposuction.
Learn more about CoolSculpting >>
Tracy Margolies, the chief merchant at Saks, tells the New York Times, “We wanted was a space where you wanted to stay.” She further elaborates to Teen Vogue saying, “What makes this new beauty concept special is the exclusive services and unparalleled offering of brands we are providing to our clients. We curated the floor to represent the best innovations in beauty and wellness in a truly specialized space,”
Sak’s is hoping the new beauty experience is something to post about
The open layout of beauty panels, secret spa rooms and open space tutorials creates both spectacle and experience; the foundational fodder of social media. Teen Vogue explains, “Social media has become a key driver of online sales, according to a 2017 Retail Dive study. With competition stiffer than ever, department stores have had seriously to up their game in order to win consumers’ dollars — largely by offering experience-driven services that you won’t get on a screen.”
“It’s very Instagrammable,” a beauty industry analyst tells the New York Times. “The environment is, ‘I’m there with my friends, and I’m going to capture it.’ All of these things are getting you into the store. It’s, ‘Look what I did.’ It’s sort of showing your coolness factor and putting it out there.”
Forbes concludes, “It’s too soon to tell if this pivot will manifest in more beauty sales for Saks.” Nevertheless, “they have created an environment where their customers are encouraged to spend all day rather than buying a lipstick on the run.” And this new move means, “Saks’ competitors will soon have to rethink their own beauty strategies.”
