Highlights from TheIndustry.beauty LIVE: Next Generation Digital Commerce

During TheIndustry.beauty LIVE: Next Generation Digital Commerce, brands and retailers such as Debenhams, Diptyque, L'Occitane, Clarins, Cloud Nine, Neal's Yard Remedies, Trinny London, Jo Loves, Revlon, Space NK and Tropic Skincare, amongst others, accessed meaningful advice and insights on the developments that will take their e-commerce to the next level, from social media to post purchase.

Hosted in partnership with logistics specialists Bleckmann, and sponsored by e-commerce leaders BigCommerce, this engaging, high-energy event invited beauty industry professionals to learn from brands, retailers and industry experts from the likes of The Inkey List, Unilever, Grown Alchemist, Indu, and more about new advances in the fields of e-commerce and digital marketing, what's next for influencers, onsite experience, enhanced delivery, and new retail channels to drive your business forward in 2025.

The Sessions

Keynote interview - Unilever 

To kick off the day's event, Claire Hennah, Chief Customer Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Unilever, discussed the opportunity of digital marketing and how to do it well.

With a media spend of 70% (30% of that being for social media), marketing can be expensive. Therefore, it is important to get it right. For Hennah, this is all about delivering very focused and targeted campaigns. 

"The digital world has completely transformed consumer attention and consumer habits. There's also so much noise out there, so it's really important to ensure you're successfully targeting your customer base," explained Hennah. 

While she did acknowledge that different brands will have different marketing tactics, it should ultimately come down to what you're trying to achieve and what is best for your customer. "You need to really understand your audience, where they are (i.e. what social media and/or retail channels they use)," she said.

Later touching on the debate of paid versus organic marketing, Hennah also emphasised that brands can't just expect consumers to find out about their campaigns. "Instead of stretching your marketing spend across many channels, it's better to focus on one and really make an impact," she added. 

Elizabeth Azide in conversation with Dave Telford, Director, Koan 

BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform that provides SaaS services to brands and retailers. Elizabeth Azide, the company's Director of Marketing, led a session with Dave Telford, Director of Koan, on providing a frictionless end-to-end experience, from checkout and loyalty to sustainability.

Speaking about the importance of selecting channels that are right for you, both Azide and Telford agreed that brands must leverage the capacities of their business and teams. "Your strategy needs to match your skills, which means aligning your capabilities with suitable channels," said Azide.

"You also need to adapt your channels to what your audiences are consuming. For example, a Gen Z-led brand should prioritise platforms such as TikTok and Instagram."

The conversation later moved on to discuss the checkout experience. "You can do great work in attracting consumers but if you don't drive it through to purchase, there's a problem in your strategy," added Telford.

"So, you need to focus on your conversion and drop off rate to try and understand what the problem might be. Is it your delivery options? Is it your payment methods? Are there too many pop ups? The best thing to do is run through the checkout experience yourself and look at as if you are a customer."

Delivering on the digital experience 

Lucy Goff, Founder & CEO at LYMA Life, sat down with Erik Janssen Steenberg, Business Development Manager at Bleckmann. During the panel, Goff discussed her brand's humble beginnings, how it integrates digital experiences to mentor its customers on the health of their skin and bodies, and how, with Bleckmann's help, she propelled the brand's growth both here in the UK and overseas in the US.

Goff founded LYMA Life in 2018, inspired by her health struggles after contracting septicemia. The company combines technology and wellness to create effective anti-ageing skincare, from lasers to supplements.

On the importance of its digital experience, Goff said: "We sell 75% direct-to-consumer. It’s not like buying a bag in a store, where you can hold it up and ask yourself ‘Will this bag suit my outfit?’. You can’t see what your face will look like with fewer wrinkles. So, to sell a product DTC, you need to have an emotional connection with your customer and it should be at the heart of everything you do."

When she first started LYMA, the brand had a small fulfilment centre that went bust on the first day of lockdown. Goff decided that whoever she went with next, given the majority of its mushrooming business was coming from DTC sales, it had to be a proven global logistics provider... here enters Bleckmann.

Steenberg’s role at Bleckmann is to prove how the company can add value to a brand’s supply chain. For example, Bleckmann ensures growth for brands like LYMA by ensuring spot-on deliveries and digital integration. LYMA’s products are expensive and delicate, so Bleckmann prepares shipments accordingly. It is also FDA-approved, meaning it can ship LYMA’s lasers to the UK.

"LYMA has a completely different set-up to another brand in the same warehouse. For example, Gymshark packages can be dropped on a conveyor belt, unlike LYMA’s packages, which have to be carefully packaged and transported. At Bleckmann, we personalise our systems according to the brand. We are set up in such a way that we can take on any customer of any size and propel your brand", said Steenberg.

Acquiring, retaining and engaging customers

With bellies full and eager to learn more, audience members clamoured back into the event room at The Hoxton Holborn to hear Chi Evi-Parker, Director of Ecommerce at Medik8, Nima Salehi, the Global Head of Online & Technology at The Inkey List, and Maddy Booker-Price, Global Digital Director at Grown Alchemist, discuss acquiring, retaining and engaging customers.

The three panellists acknowledged the importance of utilising digital platforms – such as social media and DTC sites – to drive growth. However, the customer must remain the focus. For example, differing age groups and geographies require different platforms.

When discussing acquiring customers via social media, Medik8’s Evi-Parker said: "From a macro point of view, our clinics are a great starting point for acquiring our customers, but when it comes to where we invest, Meta remains a key channel. Creating the right kind of content and continually testing is key to driving results."

Influencers were of course a hot topic. Evi-Parker added that several years ago Medik8 would provide influencers codes so they could tangibly track paid partnership effectiveness. Over time, it has seen this working less and less. Now, it works with creators around specific launches to create customer-focused content rather than dropping random commercial vouchers and hoping for the best.

Social media isn’t the only channel to acquire, retain and engage customers. DTC sites are hugely important, acting as "digital real estate".

One of the ways The Inkey List is optimising its DTC is by launching an AI-powered service for acne on its website to educate customers. "I think boards are obsessed with AI", Salehi laughed. "But, this is misrepresented. It’s important to enable your customers but you could lose them along the way, it still needs to feel personalised."

As for advice, Booker-Price said: "It is important to listen to what your customers are telling you. Ask them about what they think is authentic and compelling about your brand and drive that forward."

Salehi highlights the importance of testing internal ideas externally, as that’s what counts. You can acquire customers via social media, ads, and more, but retaining loyal shoppers is key. Drive forward those USPs and be consistent. Evi-Parker added: "Your unique selling points, such as our sustainability ethos, can cut through the noise of trend-led competitors and create that all-important customer loyalty."

Fireside chat - Indu

For the final session of the day, our very own News Editor, Sophie Smith, hosted a Fireside Chat with Aaron Chatterley & Reena Hammer, Co-founders at skincare brand Indu.

Chatterley founded Feelunique in 2005, which was sold to Sephora in 2021. It wasn’t long after the sale that Chatterley left Sephora and branched out to create Indu with Co-founder and CEO Reena Hammer. Inspired by conversations with his teenage daughters, Chatterley realised there was a gap in the market for a teenage-focused beauty brand.

He said: "If we could create a skincare brand that was designed for teenage skin and if we could create a colour solution that celebrates teenagers being teenagers rather than those aspiring to an idealised beauty standard, in the same way fashion brands are targeting the demographic, I knew we’d be on to something."

Chatterley brought in CEO Ruby Hammer who instantly recognised there was a big gap in the market: "The thing that struck me the most was that a lot of brands are launching every second, but they don’t have strong USPs. We created something that has a real purpose. There are so many teenagers and parents out there who don’t have a clue. It was a no-brainer. It was time to give teenagers something cool and exciting."

Teenagers using skincare that is too potent and damaging to their skin is a major hot topic. Chatterly’s passion for helping teens was clear for all to see. He added: "It sounds corny, but there's a level of purpose that drives what we do. We want to help teens build a healthy relationship with beauty."

The brand launched in Sephora after being in the market for a few months. Chatterley acknowledged: "We provide an unmet need that it has. As brands, we often forget that when we’re pitching to retailers, most look great, but they need to be able to merchandise it."

Interestingly, on today’s topic of digital experience, he said: "We know the only way to grow this brand in this day and age is to be in brick and mortar first. It has become exponentially expensive to grow a brand online. Unless you have virality or celebrity backing, it’s hard to cut through. Before the market becomes overcrowded, we knew it was important to get a presence."

Of course, the brand also has a strong online presence. They recently launched a whole education platform, ‘Indu 101’ to build trust with its community. Even if teens can't afford a product, they can at least learn from its online platform.

To sponsor one of our events or if you would like to ask about speaking opportunities, please email partnerships@theindustry.beauty.

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