Key features

Launched in Shenzhen in December 2020, the Clinique Laboratories concept is thought out to provide customers with ‘full sensory immersion’. Playful interactions, graphics, textures and dynamic visual storytelling forms the basis of the spaces, which position the brand’s proprietary diagnostics tool Clinique Clinical Reality™ front and centre. The facial scanning software enables employees to cater individuals’ shopping experience to their specific needs. Two dedicated areas – the ‘Discovery Table’ and ‘Community Bar’ – function as spots to explore products and receive consultant-led services. ‘The spirit of discovery infuses the space, from the visual merchandising which invites you to discover how science powers every product we create, to skin diagnosis portals and community-building Skin School services,’ Ingrid Montoya, vice president of global retail design and VM at Clinique. ‘It's an expression of Clinique for the future.’

Frame’s take

The lab aesthetic is dominating beauty retail spaces globally, particularly in the Chinese market. It’s a shift that Clinique is responding to with its brick-and-mortar direction: the brand, which has been a department-store staple for decades, seems to be setting its sights on a younger generation of consumers who value experiential shopping. Clinique Laboratories smartly moves in that direction without alienating longstanding clientele. The question is: could they have gone even further? While the spaces are certainly a fresh new take for the beauty giant, they may perhaps be too reminiscent of conventional formats to truly incentivize Gen Z and Millennial audiences.

This article was written by Lauren Grace Morris, and first appeared on FRAME: https://www.frameweb.com/artic...