We live in a world where customers shop with a phone in one hand and a product in the other. In fact, about 60 to 70 percent of consumers research and shop both in stores and online, according to McKinsey research, yet most beauty brands still treat these channels as separate experiences. 

This disconnect isn’t just a customer experience issue anymore: it’s the difference between thriving and merely surviving in today’s beauty market.

Omnichannel customers shop 1.7 times more than shoppers who use a single channel and spend significantly more, McKinsey reports. And according to Nielsen, in the first half of 2024, 41% of all beauty and personal care sales occurred through e-commerce platforms, a marked increase from previous years. 

The traditional boundaries between digital and physical beauty retail are dissolving, creating both opportunity and urgency for brands willing to embrace the interconnected future of beauty commerce.

The reality check on omnichannel customer experience

Your customers should move fluidly between Instagram discovery, AR try-on experiences, in-store consultations, and mobile purchases without losing momentum or context.

Take Sephora, for example. The beauty giant’s success demonstrates how beauty tech solutions can bridge the gap between digital convenience and physical product interaction. 

Their entire strategy is built around making a cohesive omnichannel customer journey, no matter the touchpoint. Sephora app has AR try-ons, AI shade matching — even beacon technology that pings nearby shoppers with tailored offers.

And Sephora isn’t alone in recognizing this shift. During the pandemic, Ulta Beauty quickly enhanced its omnichannel capabilities, including curbside pickup and virtual try-on features, demonstrating how established beauty retailers adapted to meet evolving customer needs. This adaptability has become essential as consumer behavior permanently shifted toward phygital beauty experiences.

Omnichannel beauty isn’t about having multiple sales channels. It’s about creating a unified ecosystem where every touchpoint reinforces and enhances the others. 

Friction in the buying journey might be more costly than you think 

When a customer discovers a product on TikTok, researches reviews on desktop, checks availability on mobile, and then visits a store only to find disconnected inventory systems and staff who can’t access their digital preferences, the journey breaks down.

Modern beauty consumers, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, who are redefining the beauty customer journey, expect their digital interactions to seamlessly carry into physical spaces. They want their virtual try-on history, saved favorites, and loyalty points to follow them everywhere.

The financial consequences of this disconnect are severe. When customers encounter inconsistent experiences across channels, they often abandon brands entirely. In an industry where acquiring new customers costs significantly more than retaining existing ones, this customer churn represents a massive revenue leak.

The technology behind connected experiences

The infrastructure enabling omnichannel beauty experiences has evolved rapidly. 

Makeup AR technology now delivers hyper-realistic virtual try-ons that work seamlessly across web browsers, mobile apps, and in-store kiosks. Customers can test a lipstick color at home through their phone camera, save their favorites to a digital profile, and have store associates pull up those preferences during an in-person visit.

AI foundation shade finder analyzes skin tone through device cameras and recommends perfect matches, bringing expert-level shade matching to customers regardless of location or time. Whether someone is shopping online at midnight or visiting a store without testers, they receive consistent, personalized guidance.

The key insight is that these technologies don’t replace human expertise: they amplify it. 

Store associates armed with customer data and AI-powered recommendations can provide more targeted, valuable service. Digital tools handle routine questions and matching, freeing human experts to focus on complex consultations and relationship building.

For instance, when a customer visits your store, the associate can access their digital interaction history. Instead of starting from scratch, the conversation begins with “I see you were interested in that coral lipstick from our collaboration: let me show you how it works with your skin tone.” 

The associate can also suggest products the customer hasn’t considered, backed by AI-powered product recommendation strategies for modern beauty consumers.

If the exact shade isn’t in stock, the associate can order it for same-day delivery or suggest alternatives using the same shade-matching technology the customer used online. The purchase goes into their unified loyalty account, earning points redeemable across all channels.

This seamless handoff between digital and physical experiences creates what industry experts call “friction-free beauty retail.” Every touchpoint adds value rather than creating obstacles, leading to higher satisfaction and increased spending.

The impact of omnichannel retail experience on accessibility

One often-overlooked benefit of omnichannel beauty strategies is their positive impact on accessibility. Accessible beauty and AR tech enable customers with mobility limitations to explore products virtually before committing to store visits. 

This expanded accessibility isn’t just socially responsible: it’s economically smart. Every barrier removed from the customer journey represents an incremental revenue opportunity. When beauty brands make their entire ecosystem more accessible, they tap into underserved markets while improving the experience for all customers.

Are you delivering a unified beauty experience?

The beauty companies thriving in 2030 will be those that make channel boundaries invisible to customers while using technology to create more personalized, convenient, and delightful interactions.

The question for beauty decision-makers isn’t whether to embrace omnichannel strategies: it’s how quickly they can implement them effectively. The brands moving first will capture the loyalty of customers who are already living omnichannel lives. Those who wait will find themselves fighting for the diminishing pool of customers willing to accept disconnected experiences.

The financial benefits are clear, the technology is accessible, and the customer demand is undeniable. Start by understanding where your customer journey breaks down, invest in technologies that bridge those gaps, and measure success through the metrics that matter most: customer retention, lifetime value, and sustainable revenue growth. 

The omnichannel beauty future rewards brands bold enough to connect every dot in the customer experience.

At Arbelle, we give beauty brands the tools to erase those boundaries and turn omnichannel from a buzzword into an everyday reality.