Clarins is expanding its direct-to-consumer strategy in Canada with the launch of a new mobile app that follows up on a U.K. pilot that has garnered close to 30% adoption among the beauty brand’s loyal customers since its launch in October 2024.

The app, developed in partnership with long-time digital agency Merkle, is designed to deepen engagement with Clarins’s existing customer base and includes a generative-AI chatbot along with an AI Skin Observer function.

According to Marie-Laurence Cormier, the Montreal-based manager of e-commerce and e-retail at Clarins, the rollout builds on the U.K. pilot through a number of enhancements, including an in-app promotional bumper that rotates brand and loyalty messaging, visibility into Club Clarins points and rewards, along with a simplified checkout that defaults to a single express-payment option.

Cormier tells strategy that the decision to invest in an app reflects changing customer expectations that are becoming increasingly difficult to meet fully through mobile web and retail alone.

“It provides a better user experience with faster load times, smoother navigation and richer interactions and builds stronger customer loyalty through ease of use and convenience,” Cormier says. “It also allows us to increase engagement by keeping customers aware of our best offers with app push notifications.”

Push notifications emerged as a key engagement driver during the U.K. pilot, according to Clarins, with a majority of users opting in to receive alerts about product launches and exclusive offers. Cormier says that, because many beauty brands continue to focus on mobile-optimized websites, Clarins saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the customer experience with the app while complementing other recent digital initiatives such as virtual try-ons and product finders.

“It ultimately comes down to each brand’s priorities. For us, the customer journey and building engagement and loyalty are essential, so the timing was right,” Cormier says. “This was the natural next step in elevating the online customer experience.”

In Canada, promotion of the app has primarily targeted Clarins’s existing customers through newsletters, website messaging and first-purchase incentives to drive downloads.

Beyond engagement, Cormier says the app allows Clarins’s customer-care team to focus on more complex inquires thanks to the 24/7 chatbot’s ability to focus on more general tasks, such as promo-code issues or questions about product availability.

Additionally, the AI Skin Observer uses deep-learning algorithms and Clarins’s skincare expertise to analyze complexion concerns and recommend tailored beauty routines. Already available in the U.K., Australia and the U.S., the AI Skin Observer tool has been delayed in Canada until the new year as Clarins develops the AI for a bilingual audience.

“Beauty shopping can be overwhelming, because there are so many products, so many ingredients, and everyone has different skin,” Cormier says. “[The AI Skin Observer] guides customers to the products that fit their need, mimicking the in-store expert experience.”