This month sees accessible health and beauty retailer, Superdrug, launch new online technology, ‘Superdrug Store Insider,’ to ensure that online customers are able to get the same personal service and expert advice as when visiting a Superdrug store.
The ‘Superdrug Store Insider’ service is now available to all Superdrug.com customers and will connect online users to Superdrug store colleagues for support and recommendation when buying fragrance and makeup – two categories where browsing and recommendation are key to customer experience.
Currently, the ‘Superdrug Store Insider’ technology is being trialled in four Superdrug stores – Westwood Cross, Leicester Fosse Park, Basildon Mayflower, Oxford Westgate – with a view to being extended across the store estate if successful.
Matt Walburn, Superdrug’s eCommerce Director says: “The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the growth of our Superdrug.com business and we are passionate to provide a market leading online experience for all our customers. Traditionally a bricks and mortar business, Superdrug has long had a reputation for expert health and beauty advice in store. So now, in a time when customers are shopping online for safety and convenience, we want to ensure we can offer that same personal shopping approach, just from the comfort of a customer’s own living room. A big part of our ecommerce strategy is about humanising the online shopping experience.”
Superdrug’s online innovation is championed by owner, A.S.Watson Group, whose focus is on a leading O+O strategy to link its vast store estate with online channels without the limitation of locations and time.
A.S. Watson CEO, Malina Ngai, says of the group’s O+O strategy: “To be able to deliver O+O with excellence, is a combination of our extensive physical store network, consisting of 16,000 physical stores, as core touchpoints. It’s an organisation cultural change when it comes to managing the business and prioritisation. Physical stores will continue to play a significant role in creating our unique O+O experience and will be a big part of an ecosystem that is powered by technology, big data and AI.”
Customers can access ‘Superdrug Store Insider’ by visiting Superdrug.com and clicking on the service icon in the corner of the screen to be connected to store.
