The SHISEIDO GLOBAL FLAGSHIP STORE (“GFS”), a flagship store where visitors can fully experience the world view of SHISEIDO, a global prestige brand that has expanded into 88 countries and regions in the world, opened in the Ginza district in Tokyo at the end of July 2020. NRI Digital assisted Shiseido with its ambitious project to create a new beauty experience that fuses online and offline through building mechanisms for supporting the brand experience, facilitating the project, and monitoring customer behavior after the launch.

The Japanese Digital Garden, a garden that utilizes traditional beauty and advanced technology

Shiseido’s brand concept is “ALIVE with Beauty”. It is at the GFS where, in order to bring out a person’s vibrant inner and outer beauty, the new brand experience that will be further developed can be enjoyed before others. The first floor is the area where customers can try skincare and makeup on their own. State-of-the art technology is used for product information and manuals, usage instructions, word-of mouth information, and simulation functions, allowing a new kind of beauty experience. On the second floor, customers can choose cosmetics that are the most suitable for them while conversing with beauty consultants, and receive advice regarding aromatherapy, diets, exercise, and overall lifestyle. On basement level 1, customers can experience meditation.

The overall design concept of the GFS, with different themes for each floor, is “Japanese Digital Garden”. In order to be able to feel Japan’s beauty in Ginza, where Shiseido was founded, traditional materials such as Japanese paper and Nishijin textiles are used for interior finishing. Tomoya Hirayama, who is in charge of marketing the GFS, explains, “We wanted to create a place where customers can wander the floors as if they were strolling through a garden, come in touch with digital content, gain new awareness, and feel positive. I want everyone who visits to be able to enjoy every floor regardless of age or gender.”

Take home the in-store experience?

GFS has three purposes: A place to experience the brand, a global information dissemination base, and a place for innovation. Shiseido Japan’s Miki Okada explains, “The strength of the value provided by the Shiseido brand lies in counseling sales. While utilizing human touch and also using digital technology, we are carrying out many other new experiments for a more enjoyable and satisfying experience.”

Ms. Okada further explains, “What we were particularly committed to was for customers to be able to ‘take home’ the entire in-store experience. In order for customers to be able to look back on their experiences on smartphones after getting home, or to purchase products they tried through EC, data utilization is essential. Thus, one of the tools we introduced is the SCONNECT wristband. It’s impossible for customers to focus on the beauty experience while holding a smartphone in one hand to take photos each time. With the wristband, the customer can be free from such troublesome tasks, and data can be recorded with a simple operation.”

Looking back, NRI Digital’s Yoshihiro Nakayama states, “In order to design mechanisms that support a customer’s experience by connecting various types of content, there were many challenges to tackle such as the wristband and other devices, but when we recruited members internally, they all felt motivated and participated. There were many difficulties in the process of repeating design and review in terms of quality and schedule, but in order to fulfill the passion of those at Shiseido who continued to strive for improvement right until the launch, we members took it upon ourselves to try the experience and focused on the realization of an even better experience, while also being mindful of the risks.”

Experiment and expand laterally in anticipation of the future

The opening was delayed and there were other setbacks because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, those who were involved view it positively that preparations which anticipated digital utilization a number of years into the future—such as mechanisms for linking experiences at the store to one’s personal account, and non-contact testers that enable the best products to be chosen based on a customer’s face image, and the appropriate amount of cosmetics to be used just by a customer holding out his or her hand—came in handy. Ms. Okada discussed her hopes for the future, stating, “In a world that is changing at an unimaginable speed and with the changing awareness of customer, digital technology has become essential. At the same time, there is a definite need to be in contact with other people. While employing the respective strengths of digitalization and human touch, we hope to further pursue superior experiences for our customers, have other stores provide the experiences tested at the GFS, and increase the number of Shiseido fans by as many people as possible.”

Hirayama, thinking globally, states, “After the opening of the GFS, it is important that we utilize behavioral data we obtained and give back to the customers. We feel that because technology is evolving, we will take on new ideas including things we were unable to realize this time and repeat the PDCA. In terms of the future, we intend to carry out similar endeavors in other countries, and connect customers in Japan and around the world.”
Nakayama has confidence in the process and says, “We feel there is huge potential in providing state-of-the art experiences in Ginza, which is an area that attracts domestic and foreign customers, it will be real progress to be able learn from customers of a prestige brand, who are generally accustomed to choosing products after face-to-face consultations, what kind of experiences will lead to purchases when they are experiencing the brand’s world view and choosing products with or without face-to-face consultations. We would like to continue to work going forward, and use the knowledge gained not only to improve the GFS, but also to contribute the growth of the brand and business.”