Success Story: Neutrogena

Like all Johnson & Johnson consumer brands, Neutrogena recognizes the value of providing an engaging digital shopper experience to drive sales and loyalty. That’s why Neutrogea, the #1 dermatologist-recommended skincare brand, is committed to providing the content and tools to help customers find, select and purchase the right products.

“We want to create best-in-class product, brand and shopping experiences that help guide purchase decisions, provide value to our customers and drive engagement and conversion,” explained Faisal Rangwala, Senior Manager of eCommerce Strategy for Johnson & Johnson Global eCommerce & Marketing Services.

At the heart of the immersive digital customer experience is the product detail page, where enhanced content can rival an in-store experience by showcasing rich images, videos, 360-degree product views and other interactive tools. In order to create enhanced content for its product detail pages and activate that content across a broad network of retailer websites, Johnson & Johnson uses the Syndigo CXH platform.

“[Syndigo] provides us with the scalability to build, distribute, and publish content and deliver deeper, more engaging digital and shopping experiences,” said Rangwala.

According to Rangwala, there are hundreds of Neutrogena product detail pages on retailer eCommerce sites.

“Partnering with [Syndigo] streamlines the process for enhanced content updates and distribution,” he said.

Armed with enhanced content on product detail pages, Neutrogena still faced a steep challenge: In the cosmetic and skincare aisles of a store, shoppers can see the colors, read the packaging and often try the products, browsing through dozens to select the best ones.

Neutrogena worked with Syndigo to launch Shadefinder, an interactive product selection tool that guides consumers through a series of questions, then recommends the cosmetic products that best meet the needs of each individual shopper.

“Even though consumers can’t physically try the products, Shadefinder acts as a personal shopping assistant, providing the most relevant product recommendation and achieving the desired outcome,” explained Rangwala. “We’re educating our customers and helping them make smart selections. That leads to higher purchase intent.”

After the initial launch, Shadefinder data showed a positive impact on customer engagement and conversions. Most significant of all, the vast majority of consumers who started Shadefinder went on to finish.

“Putting powerful decision-making tools in the hands of consumers provides a more valuable, satisfying, informative experience that can influence purchase decisions,” said Rangwala.

More than a year of data* showcased the benefits of providing consumers with an assistive shopping experience:

Engagement rate: 26,980 Shadefinder initiations with 2.3% of consumers who land on the cosmetics product detail pages chose to initiate Shadefinder.

Completion rate: 92% of the consumers who started Shadefinder went on to finish it.

‘Add to Cart’ click-through rate: For one specific retailer, nearly 28% of consumers who started Shadefinder added at least one product to their shopping cart, proof of the bottom line impact of giving consumers the right tools to drive purchase decisions.

“The Shadefinder tool exceeded expectations, and has become an invaluable part of our purchase cycle,” said Stingle. “Because the app is mobile-enabled, consumers can use it in store at the critical point of purchase. Consumers can now find the right products and become loyal Neutrogena fans.”

Behind the scenes, Neutrogena’s marketing and product development teams analyze data and mine insights from Shadefinder in conjunction with other data points to better understand consumer preferences and broaden product offerings. The data is also valuable to the teams who support Neutrogena’s retailers.

“It’s powerful to demonstrate to our retail customers the value of Shadefinder in helping shoppers navigate a complex category, and engaging them in a meaningful way that also drives sales,” said Rangwala.

After a successful launch at one major retailer, Shadefinder was rolled out to about 10 retailers across the Syndigo network. In addition, a standalone Shadefinder tool was launched on another major retailer site supported by in-store marketing materials.

“Neutrogena faced a significant barrier to purchase – consumers could not test cosmetic items in store,” explained Jenny Stingle, Neutrogena Cosmetics Brand Manager. “The Shadefinder tool overcomes this hurdle, providing custom recommendations and enabling consumers to virtually ‘try on’ products.”

Based on the solid performance and findings from the launch of the Neutrogena Shadefinder, Johnson & Johnson is investing in Product Selectors to build guided shopper experiences for a number of its other categories and will be launching before year end 2017.