The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down and has led to a paradigm shift in the way we perceive beauty. We are now questioning the very notion of beauty and what it means to us. As Shiseido celebrates its 150th anniversary, Shiseido reevaluates how they engages with its customers, and how they can build stronger bondings and loyalty between customers, adapting to the evolving values of beauty in decades.

The brief from the client was to redesign the existing legacy membership program, which had the complexity of managing their customer ID separately with 3,500+ stores and 30+ brands in 12 databases scattered across. We designed and realized a service that allows all customers to be managed under 1 ID (managed in 1 database) and recognize every single customer as one person to enable personalized and consistent support for each over their lifetime.

Shiseido has 30+ brands with different target groups and price ranges. As people age and their environment changes, the brands and products they use change. Beauty Key will be there through it all. Results from in-app selfie assessment, DNA analysis, and in-store beauty evaluation are all managed in Beauty Key, as are your purchase history and rewards. Beauty Key consolidates content from various brands in one place to provide a seamless customer experience, enabling consistent support regardless of brand switches over the decades. 

Shiseido's customers are of all ages. As they age, their needs and the products they use change. Beauty Key provides consistent support, even as your brands have changed over decades, and cross-brand counselling is available anytime. Results from in-app selfie assessment, DNA analysis, and in-store beauty evaluation are all managed in Beauty Key, as are your purchase history and rewards.

The previous program emphasized money "The more you buy, the more you save", we've transformed this into an experience-driven program offering emotional and social benefits based on interactions. Suggesting the best products for you and offering special experiences through engagement. The more you spend, the better your experience will become.

UI/UX was designed with input from customers and employees to make it intuitive for anyone. By digitalizing membership programs that were managed on paper, staff are free to focus on customer support.

Beauty Key’s design elements are influenced by Shiseido’s design philosophy, which has been passed down throughout its 150-year history. The Shiseido style design, combining the elegant curves of Art Nouveau and the light, simple expression of Art Deco, has been refined over the years and remains modern and sophisticated. Beauty Key incorporates these elegant curves into every component of its design, expressing Shiseido’s uniqueness, creating a tone and manner that fosters a sense of trust for loyal customers and appeals to new customers in a modern and attractive way.　Beauty Key is the hub for all services, shops and product brands. Therefore, the design serves as the basis for seamlessly integrating the content of the product brands. 

Beauty Key members have seen a 110-120% increase in purchase amounts and frequency compared to members of the old programme, contributing to the company's and retailers' business. Still, customers also say that they are becoming more confident about themselves.

The number of downloads has exceeded 500k in 6 months, making it the top app for beauty companies in Japan. We nailed 6th in the App Store's overall ranking and 1st in the Lifestyle category. Beauty Key has now become a growth engine for Shiseido's business to nurture its customers, generating a sales boost.

Beauty Key initially started as a complex system that focused on integrating databases. However, it has evolved to become a service that has played a significant role in changing the definition and awareness of 'beauty' in Japan.