Beauty.com and its Walgreens parent worked with Roundarch Isobar on the mobile app. Through the app, beauty lovers can check out the behind-the-scenes content from Fashion Week and get how-to advice from guest editors and fashion experts.

“Beauty.com, in collaboration with parent company Walgreens, needed a buzz-worthy application that would mark their entry into the mobile app space,” said Scott Judy, vice president at Roundarch Isobar. “We decided that we had to create an app that would provide an engaging and fun experience for their target market of high income women between 25 and 34 – an audience well-represented among iPad users.

“Industry research reveals that women in this audience typically use the iPad while watching television or relaxing at home,” he said. “With that insight, we wanted to create an engaging ‘lean back’ experience on the iPad that complemented this activity and allowed users to explore beauty or discover new products in different and engaging ways. 

“We wanted to integrate Beauty.com’s existing assets, particularly its extensive product catalog, which includes detailed color and attribute data. We deployed this rich information together with fashion and beauty content, such as behind-the-scenes photography from Fashion Week and exclusive how-to and product use content from Beauty.com’s wide range of in-house and guest editors.”

Mobile shopping
Through the app, consumers can various beauty products and use drag-and-drop color features to find their perfect lipstick match, for example.

Moreover, consumers can shop by color, category or turn to expert advice to explore new looks, picks and industry trends.

“Beauty.com is intercepting iPad traffic to their site to publicize the availability of the app and using targeted email messaging to get the word out among their existing customers,” Mr. Judy said.

“Beauty.com also launched the app with a ‘gift with purchase’ promotion, including a free iPad case with any purchase made from the app,” he said. “Additional marketing efforts are planned after the new year.

Future endeavors
An iPad app is a smart move for Beauty.com.

Consumers are constantly turning to their mobile devices to make purchases, both big and small.

Having a presence on Apple’s iPad platform is a great way to increase sales.

“Beauty.com’s target audience has a large overlap with the profile of the iPad users, making the iPad a natural fit for the company’s  first launch in the mobile space,” Mr. Judy said.

“Because mobile is about personalization and exploring, we knew we had to provide Beauty.com with an app experience that was fast, engaging and fun to use,” he said. “To that end, the Roundarch Isobar team made use of the new Collection Views feature in iOS 6—it’s one of the first live apps in the App Store that uses this new capability. 

“And because any digital strategy is about integration across all channels, the app was designed to support Beauty.com’s overall marketing efforts and to provide a seamless shopping experience for users.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York