BaubleBar has made an entire business around customization, initially with jewelry and later expanding to phone cases.
While this may appear to be a niche product at first glance, consumer behavior has shown that BaubleBar’s emphasis on personalization has resonated with its audience. The brand has leveraged this demand by making its product line customizable, tapping into the growing desire for personalized products among consumers.
BaubleBar seeks to expand its selection of customizable items to cater to consumer demand and has added hairbrushes to its products. These hairbrushes are available in seven colors and can be personalized with a choice of two fonts and retail at $42 each.
In 2017, Co-founder Daniella Yacobovsky stated that the company’s aim was to focus on satisfying customer needs and desires rather than trying to disrupt the market. She stated, “That’s where we want to play, and where we want to be,” emphasizing the brand’s commitment to meeting customer expectations. This approach has been consistent since the company’s inception in 2011.
That said, BaubleBar’s target audience reportedly comprises digitally native, 25- to 40-year-old women residing in metropolitan areas. These customers frequently discover products via social media and use both web and mobile platforms to shop.
BaubleBar’s typical customer is noted to be someone who seeks to be well-accessorized in every aspect of their life.
Fast forward to 2023, BaubleBar’s CEO and co-founder, Amy Jain, revealed that customer feedback and behavior are the primary sources of inspiration for the brand’s custom products, particularly those beyond jewelry. By observing their customers’ behavior, BaubleBar can identify new ways to offer them accessories.
Jain also spoke about BaubleBar’s surprising success with their phone case program, admitting that the brand had not predicted its popularity. However, with the trend of filming oneself in mirrors on the rise, the phone cases featuring prominently in the shots gained traction. Jain observed that for the Gen Z demographic, customizable phone cases offer an opportunity to add a personal touch to a device that often serves as a reflection of their identities in the digital world.
BaubleBar’s phone cases are priced at $72 and come in a wide range of color and font options. Customers can choose either cursive or block letters, glitter-outlined letters and cases in various colors. Jain stressed that these phone cases are not produced in bulk but are made to order.
Mass personalization refers to products that can be mass-produced but can be modified by the company to meet individual consumer preferences. This process does not require any input from the consumer other than allowing the use of their purchase or profile data. Amazon’s personalized recommendations serve as a perfect example of this, displaying pop-ups that suggest products consumers may be interested in based on their previous purchase history.
In contrast, mass customization refers to products that are mass-produced, but consumers are provided with a limited set of options to customize the product or service. For instance, Dell provides consumers with the option to customize the computer they wish to purchase.
BaubleBar provides a diverse range of products that can be customized, from size adjustments to more intricate customizations, such as choosing colors and letters to be featured on the product. Despite this level of personalization, the brand has cultivated a devoted following among its customers, as per Jain. She disclosed that a significant majority of those who have purchased a customized item from the brand has returned to buy at least two more products.
These findings track with data that shows 71% of consumers expect personalization. Furthermore, at least 50% have expressed interest in purchasing customized products or services and half of those consumers have revealed that they are willing to wait longer for these products or services.
Despite the abundance of companies offering customizable products, Jain noted that BaubleBar’s range of customizable items had maintained its popularity and success, as evidenced by sales figures. Also, during peak gift-giving seasons, custom products can contribute up to up to 50% of BaubleBar’s eCommerce sales.
To market their recently released hairbrushes, BaubleBar is said to be distributing samples to roughly 70 influencers, among them Batsheva Haart, Darcy Mcqueeny, Emilie Kiser, The Home Edit, Mireya Rios, Matt Loves Hair, Mikayla Nogueira, Whitney Port, Chris Appleton, Jen Atkin, Makeup by Mario, Justine Marjan, and Meredith Duxbury.
BaubleBar’s marketing director, Francesca Mileo, said that they aimed to not only distribute their new hairbrush to individuals within the hair community but also broaden their reach by sending samples to content creators from various niches who may be interested in sharing a fun hairbrush with their followers.
“We’re tapping into these niche content [corners]; for example, [within] ‘Get Ready With Me,’ there’s this pocket of dads that are doing hair for little girls, and we’re gifting hairbrushes to [some of them].” The brand is also sending brushes to cool hair care brands, like Ouai, which may opt to use the brushes as accessories in their own social media posts,” said Mileo.
Jain explained that the new hairbrushes are not just another accessory but more of a practical item used similarly to a phone case. The BaubleBar customer is often on-the-go and pays attention to how their accessories look in different situations, such as in a handbag or beach tote. With the hairbrushes, the brand aimed to provide a portable item that would bring a little bit of joy to these moments.
To cater to its audience, the brand has developed a wholesale accessories program and has introduced a hair accessories collection at Ulta Beauty. Moreover, the brand offers a lower-priced range of hair accessories through its SugarFix by BaubleBar collection, which is available at Nordstrom and Target and offers items ranging from $10 to $25.
In terms of the customized hairbrush, which currently takes about seven weeks to ship, can be purchased on the brand’s website.
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