The intergalactic campaign of ‘Mercury Retrograde’; apart from illustrating striking makeup looks that could be achieved by using the palette, showcased design elements that would soon after inspire the store.
Last November, Huda Beauty – the brand envisioned by the global beauty icon Huda Kattan – launched its first pop-up store since the company’s inception in 2016. The hard-to-miss ‘Mercury Retrograde’ themed shop was located in London, on the concourse of Covent Garden. As the founder of one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the world, Huda’s passion for makeup went beyond providing high-quality products; she wanted a retail space that fully embodied the brand, or in this case, a space that best-represented her new eyeshadow palette.
The Huda Beauty pop-up store is painted pink from top to bottom, and its walls are covered in angled mirrors; offering customers a unique outer-space inspired experience.
Storefront assisted the beauty guru from the get-go with procuring a location that would resonate with both locals and tourists in equal measure. Covent Garden and its status as the beauty hub of London quickly presented the ideal choice for the holographic meteor. When it came to the store itself, Huda had complete control over the creative vision. Built from scratch, the eye-catching pop-up “truly translated how Huda envisioned the consumer experience to be”.
GREAT RETAIL DESIGN IS A NATURAL EXTENSION OF THE BRAND
The British pop-up presented consumers with an environment that not only functions as a retail space but delivers an immersive encounter; one where ‘fun’ was central to the experience. The magical and cosmic environment was created around the new product offering – the Mercury Retrograde palette. The interior’s various galactic elements, fractured mirrored surfaces and shimmering fixtures resembled the exterior; a metallic mass of geometrical shapes forming a meteor. The retail design not only reinforced the visual elements of the ‘Mercury Retrograde’ outer-space theme, but it also ensured that the brand’s personality in its entirety permeated through the store. This extended through to the staff wearing holographic jumpsuits who together with the store design, create the holistic world of Huda Beauty.
The ‘Mercury Retrograde’ eyeshadow palette that inspired the brand’s first pop-up store in the British capital.
GREAT RETAIL DESIGN CREATES AN INTERACTIVE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
The design capitalises on creating Insta-worthy sets from the Mercury Retrograde theme; connecting the physical space to the online community. Inside the pop-up, Huda’s throne used for the launch material was made available for customers to sit on and take pictures which would then be shared on social platforms. By cleverly introducing elements that would entice customers to share their pop-up experience online, the news of the launch was taken into the realms of social media for others to experience. By recognising the effect an engaging physical experience has on the longevity of the relationship between a brand and its customers, the pop-up allowed customers to develop an emotional attachment to the brand and enabled them to enter Huda’s world and experience it first-hand.
Beauty enthusiasts can immerse themselves in the experience by posting in recreated sets from the promotional shot of the eyeshadow palette that inspired the astrological-themed store.
This interactive experience went beyond emotionally connecting consumers to the product; it clearly communicated to them what the brand stands for – Huda’s inspiration and innovation for beauty. More powerful than just leaving with a purchase, customers that walk in the Huda Beauty shop leave with a magical, memorable experience – this quality ultimately drives brand engagement.
GREAT RETAIL DESIGN PROVIDES A ONE-OF-A-KIND EXPERIENCE
The Huda Beauty pop-up shop and its elements created an omnichannel experience that many brands strive for but cannot easily achieve. The physical retail environment truly complemented and embodied the online perception of Huda Beauty; adding a layer to the experience that could not be replicated or obtained by customers online. Apart from the interior design, the brand offered limited edition products that created a buzz and incentivised beauty enthusiasts to queue outside from the very first day. Huda herself surprised her fans with hot cocoa and posed for selfies; giving them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The strategy of launching products in pop-up stores that elevate the retail experience and enable enthusiasts to physically enter Huda’s world and share her vision, proved to be a successful brand awareness initiative for the new product launch.
Customers can purchase a range of exclusive limited edition products starting from a liquid matte lip gloss and lip liner in a Union Jack-printed tin, to a water bottle containing an amethyst crystal.
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