BENEFIT COSMETICS

Benefit Cosmetics used Live Shopping on Instagram to launch two new products, selling out of several shades of a brow pen within 72 hours and selling an average of one mascara per minute during that item’s livestream.

THE STORY
San Francisco beauty brand

Twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford started a small makeup shop in San Francisco in 1976, which evolved into Benefit Cosmetics, one of the world’s leading beauty product manufacturers. The brand now has locations in 59 countries, with more than 3,000 BrowBars and 85 boutiques worldwide.

46%

of total Brow Microfilling Pen units sold for Benefit Cosmetics’ ecommerce channel during the first week of product launch were sold on Instagram

42%

of total Brow Microfilling Pen units sold for Benefit Cosmetics‘ ecommerce channel during the first 48 hours of launch were sold through Instagram

one mascara

sold every minute, on average, during the Live Shopping event

Instagram Shopping has paved the way for Benefit Cosmetics’ expansion into social commerce in the US. It is an integral part of our product launch strategy. Using Live Shopping, drops and product tags has helped us engage with our followers and allowed them to shop our newest arrivals with ease on the platform.
ALLIE STALLONE, ECOMMERCE MARKETING MANAGER, BENEFIT COSMETICS
THE GOAL
Creating excitement for new products

As it approached the launch of new products, Benefit wanted to build interest and awareness before the release dates and maximize sales when the products became available online.

THE SOLUTION

An exclusive product launch

Benefit Cosmetics uses Instagram to build deeper connections with its customers, make its products easily discoverable and enable seamless purchases online. Benefit recently released two new products, Brow Microfilling Pen and the They’re Real! Magnet Mascara. To meet its sales goals, the brand chose to launch both exclusively on Instagram first for 24 hours, taking full advantage of the platform’s shopping solutions to generate excitement.

For each product, Benefit planned an Instagram Live Shopping experience on launch day to educate customers about the products and to serve as the first buying opportunity online. Live Shopping is an interactive livestream that allows viewers to purchase featured items within the broadcast, and afterward in the brand’s shops on Facebook and Instagram. After setting its launch dates, Benefit began promoting the launches using several key Instagram shopping solutions.

The team used Commerce Manager to set up product launches for each item. Creating a product launch on Instagram enables people to preview products or set reminders for when they become available for purchase. Benefit posted about the launches in its feed and stories using the product launch tag, allowing people to click to get a launch reminder. To keep the product a surprise, the team dropped hints about product details in each post. They used teaser imagery and naming in the product launch tag to encourage conversation and build anticipation for the big day.

To drive demand on launch day, Benefit made the products available exclusively on Instagram for the first 24 hours. The team also allowed a select group of creators to tag the new products on their own pages, significantly increasing product exposure. In the live shopping events on Instagram on launch day, the brand finally unveiled the new products, demonstrated key attributes, responded to viewer questions in real time and tagged the products for purchase on Instagram.

The product launch results were impressive. Using data obtained from Commerce Manager and insights from Benefit’s ecommerce insights platform, the team measured the following results:

  • 46% of total Brow Microfilling Pen units sold for Benefit Cosmetics‘ ecommerce channel during the first week of product launch were sold on Instagram
  • 42% of total Brow Microfilling Pen units sold for Benefit Cosmetics‘ ecommerce channel during the first 48 hours of launch were sold through Instagram
  • One mascara sold every minute, on average, during the Live Shopping event
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