Online beauty retailer Lust Have It has outlined three distinct models of subscription commerce, or sCommerce, after revealing its subscriptions have grown more than 1000% over the past year.
Lust Have It, which describes itself as Australia’s leading beauty box subscription service, was launched in July 2011 by Nicci Herrera, who started the business from the lounge room of her home in Hobart.
In December 2011, Lust Have It received funds from eCommerce incubator Foundry, which took an undisclosed stake in the business.
Then in April 2012, Lust Have It acquired competitor GlossyBox.com.au, although the details of this deal are also unknown.
Over the past year, subscriptions have grown by more than 1000%, the company has revealed.
To date, more than 60 beauty brands have used the company’s subscription service, including Lancôme, Benefit, Shiseido, Kerastase, YSL, ModelCo, Burt’s Bees and Laura Mercier.
Meanwhile, the Lust Have It online community boasts more than 50,000 women.
The latest move from Lust Have It is the appointment of Greta Stojanovic, who, as chief executive, has been charged with the task of taking the business to “the next level”.
Prior to Lust Have It, Stojanovic was the vice president of strategy at Freelancer.com.
“In the current economic climate, it’s even more important for consumers to be purchasing products that are right for them and don’t go to waste,” she says.
“Our service is a great way for consumers to try before they buy and ensure their dollars are going into products that work for them.”
According to Stojanovic, there are three distinct models of sCommerce. They are as follows:
“The economy subscription model is about low-cost manufacture and then it’s about celebrity endorsement,” she says.
“A good example of that is based in the US – you have ShoeDazzle and they’re endorsed by Kim Kardashian. You pay by the month and the subscriber gets to choose a product.
“You can tailor their needs but it’s more about having that low-cost model.”
Stojanovic says Lust Have It fits into the discovery category – it takes consumers on a “journey of discovery” to experience new products firsthand, and then facilitates discussion and sharing via social media.
“Consumers are overwhelmed by a global smorgasbord of beauty products,” she says.
“While they are more likely to look online for product recommendations, trial remains a key part of the purchasing process.
“Lust Have It puts a curated selection of the best new products into their hands and then helps them understand how to use them and share their experiences with a community of like-minded women online.”
“What you have with the replenish model is more like the Dollar Shave Club… Being a member allows you to continually benefit,” Stojanovic says.
“In Australia we’ve got Little Rascals, which is another subscription service which recently launched, and that’s allowing mothers to buy nappies at a low cost.”
Stojanovic says razors and nappies are ideally suited to this model.
“If you have something which is an everyday need, it would be great to do something like the replenish model,” she says.
