My Role: L’Oréal UX Team Leader
Brands: Armani Beauty, YSL Beauty, Prada Beauty, Valentino, Lancome, Kiehl’s, Biotherm, Urban Decay, Vichy, La Roche Posay, CeraVe, L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Matrix, Redken, Biolage, L’Oréal Paris, Mixa, NYX, Garnier, Maybelline,
E-commerce partners: Hebe, Rossmann, Superpharm, Natura, Sephora, Douglass, Makeup.pl, Tagomago, Frisco, DOZ.pl, Melissa, Dr. Max, Gemini, Friser, Hairstore, Cocolita,
Introduction:
L’Oréal, with 21 brands in the Poland & Baltic HUB market and around 4000 SKU, is a leading player in the cosmetics industry. To effectively expand its e-commerce sales channel, the company collaborates with 16 e-comm partners who sell their products through their online stores. To enhance the appeal of their products in these stores, L’Oréal UX Team decided to introduce Rich Content on Product Detail Pages (PDP). Rich Content is interactive and comprehensive content presented on PDPs, providing users with detailed product information and helping them in making purchase decisions.
Context:
In the competitive e-commerce landscape, it is crucial to deploy innovative solutions that capture customers' attention and encourage them to make purchases. Through research and A/B testing, the L’Oréal UX Team discovered that Rich Content can significantly impact conversion rates. Implementing Rich Content on selected SKUs at e-commerce partners’ stores resulted in up to a 13% increase in conversions. User interviews also revealed that Rich Product Cards enhance the credibility and authenticity of products in the store (especially in terms of luxury products). Introducing this functionality is not only a response to customer expectations but also an effective method to strengthen brand positioning in the market.
Project Process:
Introducing Rich Content to 16 e-commerces posed challenges due to the diverse range of products and unique requirements of each store. To address this, the UX team developed a comprehensive "playbook" based on the findings from A/B tests and user feedback. This playbook contained guidelines and proven principles that empowered marketers to create effective content. It serves as a valuable tool for briefing agencies and ensuring that their projects meet key success criteria. The agency brief itself has also been modified, and the team established a checklist for the client to consider when commissioning rich card projects for successful outcomes. This has enabled agile management of such a large-scale project.
SEO Optimization and Enriched Secondary Pictures:
To maximize the visibility and discoverability of Rich Content, the L'Oréal UX Team incorporated SEO best practices into the implementation process. Keyword research was conducted to identify relevant terms that align with user search intent. These keywords were strategically integrated into titles and descriptions, ensuring that the Rich Content aligns with search engine algorithms and ranks higher in search results. Additionally, the team enriched secondary product pictures with visually appealing infographics, creating a more immersive and informative experience for users.
Solution:
Rich Content on product pages provides users with extensive information presented in an interactive and visually appealing manner. Product cards feature clinical studies, detailed ingredient descriptions, usage methods, unique product features, user ratings and reviews, before-and-after results, and engaging videos and images, all of which were identified as sought-after information by users based on comprehensive research and user studies. Additionally, a Cross-Sell section was introduced, showcasing complementary products and dedicated skincare routines, enticing users to make multiple purchases. Due to the vast assortment of products, not every product can have rich content. The UX Team selected specific SKUs based on website visits and sales performance. The creation of the playbook helped consolidate our knowledge, bringing it all together in one place. Based on this, Creation Golden Rules were established, which include a set of KPIs to assess whether the playbook's objectives are met in projects. This enables agile management on a wide scale.
Results and Effectiveness:
After implementing Rich Content on selected product pages at partner stores, the UX Team monitors its effectiveness using Hotjar analytics. Key performance indicator includes scroll depth, indicating user engagement and interest levels. This analysis allows tracking user reactions to the presented information, facilitating continuous refinement of Rich Content. Subsequent iterations of A/B testing and heatmaps contribute to constant improvements in Product Detail Pages (PDP). Ongoing testing allows for continuous optimization and expansion of the playbook.
Scroll depth is a key indicator of card effectiveness.
Conclusion:
The introduction of Rich Content on product pages in e-commerce proved to be a successful move for L’Oréal. The extensive and visually appealing presentation of information increased user awareness and purchase intent. Rich Content resulted in improved conversion rates at e-commerce partner stores, enhancing L’Oréal’s competitiveness in the cosmetics market. Issuing the playbook helped systematize knowledge, share it with marketing teams (who are the owners of the rich cards budget), and measure the effects of their efforts.
Some more examples of Rich Content created for L’Oréal:
