After a rough year, Birchbox is looking for ways to enhance its subscription offerings through a pricier and more customized offering to subscribers. Up just $4 from its original $10 subscription, Birchbox’s new $14 box to current subscribers will allow for more VIP-level perks.
In 2016, the company deliberately slowed down growth in order to focus on its core business and improve operational efficiency, working toward profitability and long-term sustainability. Birchbox received a $15 million cash infusion from existing investors in August 2016.
New competition in the form of Michelle Phan’s Ipsy, GlossyBox and BeautyArmy entered the market and took sales away from Birchbox. With a reported 35 percent of revenue coming from subscribers trying samples and following through with purchases of the full-sized items, it’s no wonder the brand is reworking its image with a new offering.
To show its strength and paint a more vivid picture of Birchbox’s thinking behind this new, pricier subscription option, Birchbox issued the following statement to TechCrunch:
“We are currently testing additional ways to allow subscribers to get the most out of their subscription. These new features have been in development for awhile and stem directly from customer research – we’re thinking strategically about what our subscribers want more of and how to execute on that in a way that makes sense for our business.”
While it can be fun to try out new products from time to time, the monthly subscription boxes may be too much for some women. With busy lifestyles, it can be hard to try out every product in every box each month. The low conversion rate from sample to full size product purchasing will likely push Birchbox to continue to innovate.
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