Skin First Cosmetics is a digitally native startup founded in 2019. Established by Dr. Maria Pia Priore, a scientific communicator, pharmacist, and cosmetologist while completing her studies, it's an inspiring example of a company that started from an online community and grew into a million-dollar business. Priore identified a gap in the cosmetics industry for proper and accessible scientific communication, leading her to the creation of a social media community and, subsequently, of the first Skin First products.
Beginning in the 2020s, Skin First experienced a turning point for the brand as Skin First experiences substantial growth and new challenges such as:
- Managing the exponential growth of the fan base and customers;
- Finding a solution that integrates their e-commerce with a CRM and facilitates stock management without relying on external agencies;
- Automating and simplifying production, catalog management, orders and payments.
Challenge
Shopify allows Skin First to create the initial version of its first website in June 2019, resulting in immediate sales. This is immediately followed by an upgrade to the advanced plan for greater customization. Finally, the surge in sales volume during the 2020 Black Friday prompts the transition to Shopify Plus, which allows for a further upgrade to a vast array of features and lower commissions.
We needed a more powerful website to manage peak moments, especially during the checkout phase.
Over 2020 and 2021 Skin First grows exponentially, driving the need for process automation amid strong growth. In 2022, Skin First launches its first temporary store, expanding its business offline for the first time.
As the business grows, the need for automation inevitably increases.
Solution
With the support of Shopify Plus experts, Skin First Cosmetics seamlessly and autonomously transitions to Shopify Plus.
“In the past year, the adoption of Shopify Flow has saved a lot of time and streamlined the process by integrating e-commerce with CRM activities," says Rossella. "Features like alerts for large orders help manage stocks and prevent fraud attempts, while tags facilitate email marketing for online sales and point-of-sale activities”.
Relying on the Shopify platform, Skin First successfully opens its first temporary stores within two months in 2022. Shopify POS, Shopify's fully-integrated solution for accepting payments in person, allows the brand to manage the same catalog and promotions both online and offline, identifying customers who make purchases through both channels—an essential aspect for customer insight.
With Shopify Payment & Shopify Pay—used by 13% of the brand’s customers for payments—Skin First manages temporary store activities, accepting digital and cash payments within a unified ecosystem that integrates offline and e-commerce. Additionally, the use of Shopify Script displays available shipping options based on each user's postal code.
“Thanks to the Expansion store, we can create a test store identical to the current one. This allows us to test apps, logistics, and other scenarios in real time. It's a perfect test environment to grant partners access without using the live version, ensuring secure testing of anything." adds Rossella
Results
By 2021, just a year after the transition to Shopify Plus, Skin First's revenue grow from 3 to 5 million euros (+66%). With an increased fan base and number of customers, traffic naturally increases by 24% in the first year. Returning customers account for over half of the customer base, and the first 12 months' KPIs show a 12% growth in the conversion rate. Through the opening of temporary stores, Skin First immediately achieved 10% of its revenue from offline sales.
I've used other platforms as well, but none offer the same speed and ease of use as Shopify Plus. It empowers you to carry out various activities independently, without necessarily relying on external agencies.
