After the British Chancellor’s recent budget announcement outlining plans to tackle rising prices and the rapid rise in the cost of living, many British consumers will be forced to cut down on their spending as disposable income is set to lessen significantly. As a result, some individuals will no longer be able to afford luxury items, meaning there is a need for more cost-effective brands and solutions. Coincidently, British beauty retailer Superdrug has launched Superdrug Marketplace, the first high street health and beauty marketplace destination within the UK, which may help shoppers to tackle this issue.
Seamlessly integrated into the Superdrug website, the new addition will bring increased attention to undiscovered brands, as well as innovative and affordable products for consumers to indulge in. Superdrug has chosen Mirakl, an advanced enterprise marketplace platform to launch its new initiative, and partnered with SAP (Systems Applications and Products) implementation partner KPS on its implementation. Superdrug Marketplace will have a strong focus on helping to grow female-founded, homegrown, sustainable, and inclusive new brands.
“Marketplace is the exciting next step in our digital transformation programme. Our intention is twofold; to promote diversity by supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses within the industry and to dramatically increase our range on Superdrug.com; broadening and strengthening our accessible beauty and health offering to our customers,” says Superdrug Marketing and eCommerce Director Matt Walburn.
Over 300 brands have signed up to the new platform since its announcement in March of this year, doubling the number of product offerings available on the website. Brands including cruelty-free range UpCircle and women’s shaving brand FFS Beauty have entered the retailer through the marketplace, and will sit alongside Superdrug products with an identifiable marketplace logo and banner attached. “This initial growth will drive a wider, highly curated product offering, enabling Superdrug to efficiently respond to, and go beyond their customers’ needs,” comments Sophie Marchessou, Executive Vice President Customer Success B2C, Mirakl.
Superdrug Marketplace is another chapter in the UK’s evolving beauty retailer space, including recent entries such as Sephora’s return to the retail sector. Furthermore, it’s also a sign of increasing cross-platform diversification, such as Walmart x SpaceNK and JCPenney and Thirteen Lune’s partnership. With its budget-friendly and diverse offerings, Superdrug is hoping to grab the attention of this broad and eager beauty consumer audience. "This has been a great project to be involved with and I'm excited to see the positive impact that this has for Superdrug and their customers,” adds Branwell Moffat, Director of CX Consulting at KPS. “I can honestly say that it has been a pleasure working with the team at A.S. Watson and Superdrug and I'm looking forward to what we can do together in the future."
