ABOUT THE BRAND
Beekman 1802 imbues their skincare with kindness
Beekman 1802 turned an act of kindness into a skincare revolution. The brand began with a simple mission: to harness the power of goat milk and kindness in every product it creates. Starting with a herd of 100 goats and a close-knit community of neighbors, Beekman 1802 has grown from a single bar of soap into the world’s largest goat milk skincare company.
Every product they create is designed to improve skin care while fostering moments of kindness in their customers’ lives. Their philosophy? When you’re kind to yourself, your skin looks better.
We had the pleasure of speaking with David Baker, Beekman 1802’s Chief Digital Officer. Here’s how he and his team used Tapcart to spread kindness to their neighbors (AKA customers) while streamlining their operational efficiency.
THE CHALLENGE
Creating a customized app — without spending 9 months and 7 figures
Follow the customer. That’s David’s and the Beekman team’s philosophy when serving the customer experience. At first, there were some hesitations to embracing a mobile app — their customer base is primarily women in an older demographic that typically isn’t as prolific on mobile devices. But they saw the shift. As more and more customers moved from desktop to mobile, they knew they needed a mobile app to give them the best experience.
“If our customers are there, I am going to make certain we are able to be there and offer them the right solutions wherever they are,” said David. “A mobile app is great for that.”
If their customers were already shopping on mobile, David wanted to give them a mobile-first experience with faster load times and an easier interface.
However, David had worked with a fashion brand to develop a custom app and knew he couldn’t spend the time and money on the next one. He wanted a custom solution without the custom cost. Instead of spending over seven figures and nine months, he chose to work with Tapcart.
"Kindness is an ingredient literally on all of our packaging. One of the ways in which we like to honor that and continue that is through bringing rays of sunshine or little moments of kindness into our consumers' lives. So, I'm very grateful to Tapcart to help us enable that at a larger scale and in a way that is cost-effective and helps build that relationship with probably one of the most intimate parts of our customers’ lives — their mobile phones.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
THE SOLUTION
Quick launch, big impact: Enhancing operations and the customer experience
Launching Beekman 1802’s app with Tapcart was a far cry from nine months and seven figures. Implementation took just three weeks — which David admitted was only because of delays on the brand side.
“Recognizing the speed with which we could go with Tapcart versus doing something custom opened up a lot of opportunities,” said David.
"Given my past with custom apps, the work difference between Tapcart and a custom app is on par with having a Shopify store versus a custom store. It is that significant.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
Those opportunities included creating better connections with their customers. The team is able to create a push notification much faster than an email, which David says is super powerful for his team’s digital marketing strategy. It enables them to pivot quickly to take advantage of a viral moment, rapidly respond to any issues or opportunities, and stay nimble with their customers.
Enhancing brand engagement through personalized brand engagement
Since the Beekman brand leans into clean beauty ingredients and goat milk, they rely on their app to educate consumers on the benefits and FAQs of their products, including when to use them, how often, and in what order. They used Custom Blocks to design educational content into the app while maintaining their brand look and feel.
Learn how to create a unique VIP customer experience with Custom Blocks
Once the app launched, David and his team employed several tactics to drive downloads and, more importantly, push notification subscribers. Here’s how they kicked off app download promotions:
- They used the Capture Kit to customize a QR code widget and installed it on their desktop website.
- They embedded links to the mobile app in the brand’s welcome email funnel, with downloading the app and subscribing to push notifications as part of the flow.
- They offer a first-time purchase discount in the app.
Supercharging the customer experience with seamless integrations
Beekman 1802 has leveraged several powerful integrations to elevate its app experience. By integrating Gorgias through Tapcart Custom Blocks, it transformed its in-app customer support into a profit center, providing quick and personalized assistance to customers.
Connecting their Klaviyo account with the Tapcart app enabled Beekman 1802 to send personalized and highly targeted push notifications at scale. This integration allows for customer segmentation based on user behavior and location, driving immediate sales growth.
With Yotpo’s Loyalty and Rewards Program, Beekman 1802 offers customers the chance to earn rewards for purchases, referrals, reviews, and VIP activities. This supports creating tailored rewards programs that are updated in real time to optimize engagement and loyalty.
Together, these strategic integrations provide the best CX to a brand’s most loyal customers. Combining in-app customer support, personalized push messaging, and a rewards program supercharged Beekman 1802’s mobile app experience.
Driving downloads and revenue with app-exclusive sales
Recently, the team also launched a mobile app download campaign for their annual warehouse sale, the largest sale of the year. They pushed app downloads as a way to get early sale access, which their customers coveted since some SKUs had less than ten items available. As a result, they saw a 10% lift in downloads over a three-day period.
To continue capitalizing on the sale, they followed up the download with a push notification thanking their customers for the downloads. They also sent a reminder notification the day before the sale and another the morning of, which helped drive app sales — doubling the app’s typical percentage of overall sales.
THE STRATEGY
Boosting engagement with push notifications — and achieving a 37x ROI
Now, after launching in September 2023, the mobile app has seen a 37x return on investment (ROI). But what’s behind these impressive numbers? They developed a strategy that focuses heavily on maximizing their operational efficiency while continuing to deliver value — and ultimately, kindness — to their customers.
Spreading kindness and boosting engagement with push notifications
David’s push notification strategy blends brand ethos with customer engagement. Each week, the Beekman 1802 team sends out kindness affirmations via push notifications to uplift their customers and strengthen the brand connection.
“Push, which has a really special place for us, allows us to reach into our users mobile phones who have built a relationship with the brand,” said David. “What we can’t do once we are given that trust is just bombard them with sale, sale, sale’”
These messages aren’t sales pitches — they include inspirational quotes from figures like Dolly Parton and the Dalai Lama, seasonal skincare tips, and more. They create a unique and intimate touchpoint between the brand and its customers.
This thoughtful take on push notifications has also improved retention and community engagement. Customers check the app more frequently, drawn by the positive content.
As a result, the revenue per session is 29% higher on the mobile app than on the website, and the conversion rate (CVR) is 31% higher on the mobile app than on the website. Sales in the mobile app in the first three months of 2024 have exceeded app sales in Q4 of 2023, which is always a big quarter because of BFCM and the holidays. This shows that the app and push notifications are building customer relationships and driving revenue.
"Our sales on the app within the first three months of the year have exceeded our Q4 sales on the app. That is very healthy growth in terms of building a relationship with those users, building the frequency with which they purchase, as well as building their AOV. So that's very healthy to see.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
Strengthening customer relationships and boosting retention
The relationships these push notifications create not only improved app-user retention but also directly contributed to higher average order value (AOV) and more frequent purchases. As a result, the team has seen mobile app users make higher-frequency purchases than those without the app.
"With the app, we’ve been able to have a relationship and identify the loyal users we are able to build frequency with. It's about making certain that the experience and UX/UI are top-notch, especially for those users. It’s been a great success factor for us.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
This has been especially helpful for the team since repurchasing rates have been lower than projected in the past. With the mobile app, they don’t need to worry about winning back their customers — they already have that close connection with them through the app and push notifications. As a result, their app retention rate stands strong at 90.6%.
“[A mobile app] is an opportunity to build that relationship from an LTV perspective with those who've chosen to download and use the mobile app,” said David.
Driving operational efficiency and incremental sales
Despite early hesitations that their user base wouldn’t adopt the app and wouldn’t be able to grow their audience, they’ve seen quick success in their mobile app.
“We’ve seen app growth while also continuing to see growth in our online store,” said David. “That tells me that it’s not a cannibalization of our online store. There’s incrementality there.”
Plus, with the additional benefit of reaching out to their customers via push notifications, they save money by excluding subscribers from SMS and paid advertising.
“[A mobile app] is a great opportunity to reach out to a very high-value target set of individuals and engage with just a single push notification, and do so in a way that is very quick and easy to mobilize,” said David.
Push notifications and the mobile app, as a whole, are helping improve Beekman 1802’s operational efficiency — saving them thousands of dollars in just the first few months of the app launch.
Capitalizing on Black Friday Cyber Monday
To prepare for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM), the Beekman 1802 team made sure to launch their app internally well before November came around. During the time leading up to BFCM, they tested the app and started driving app downloads before the biggest sales day of the year.
While they didn’t offer app-exclusive deals or early access during this first big sale, they used the app as a powerful communications channel to drive incremental sales throughout the holiday weekend.
During BFCM, the app allowed the Beekman team to effectively engage with customers and avoid the high costs of paid media and SMS messages. A well-timed push notification sent to app users on Thanksgiving was extremely effective and contributed to a peak in sessions, AOV, and overall sales for the mobile app.
This year, they plan to test offering exclusive deals and early access to app users before BFCM to capitalize on the app’s potential. The success they saw in 2023 has set the stage for even more strategic use of the app in future high-sales periods.
What’s next for Beekman 1802 and Tapcart?
David and the Beekman 1802 team are excited to continue their partnership with Tapcart, focusing on building solid incrementality in the future. They plan to introduce QR codes to their packaging in the future and work on building up the features in the app to best serve their customers.
“Tapcart’s been a fantastic partner and continues to help drive success and build innovation within the platform,” said David.
Ready to wow your customers with an elevated mobile experience?
ABOUT THE BRAND
Beekman 1802 imbues their skincare with kindness
Beekman 1802 turned an act of kindness into a skincare revolution. The brand began with a simple mission: to harness the power of goat milk and kindness in every product it creates. Starting with a herd of 100 goats and a close-knit community of neighbors, Beekman 1802 has grown from a single bar of soap into the world’s largest goat milk skincare company.
Every product they create is designed to improve skin care while fostering moments of kindness in their customers’ lives. Their philosophy? When you’re kind to yourself, your skin looks better.
We had the pleasure of speaking with David Baker, Beekman 1802’s Chief Digital Officer. Here’s how he and his team used Tapcart to spread kindness to their neighbors (AKA customers) while streamlining their operational efficiency.
THE CHALLENGE
Creating a customized app — without spending 9 months and 7 figures
Follow the customer. That’s David’s and the Beekman team’s philosophy when serving the customer experience. At first, there were some hesitations to embracing a mobile app — their customer base is primarily women in an older demographic that typically isn’t as prolific on mobile devices. But they saw the shift. As more and more customers moved from desktop to mobile, they knew they needed a mobile app to give them the best experience.
“If our customers are there, I am going to make certain we are able to be there and offer them the right solutions wherever they are,” said David. “A mobile app is great for that.”
If their customers were already shopping on mobile, David wanted to give them a mobile-first experience with faster load times and an easier interface.
However, David had worked with a fashion brand to develop a custom app and knew he couldn’t spend the time and money on the next one. He wanted a custom solution without the custom cost. Instead of spending over seven figures and nine months, he chose to work with Tapcart.
"Kindness is an ingredient literally on all of our packaging. One of the ways in which we like to honor that and continue that is through bringing rays of sunshine or little moments of kindness into our consumers' lives. So, I'm very grateful to Tapcart to help us enable that at a larger scale and in a way that is cost-effective and helps build that relationship with probably one of the most intimate parts of our customers’ lives — their mobile phones.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
THE SOLUTION
Quick launch, big impact: Enhancing operations and the customer experience
Launching Beekman 1802’s app with Tapcart was a far cry from nine months and seven figures. Implementation took just three weeks — which David admitted was only because of delays on the brand side.
“Recognizing the speed with which we could go with Tapcart versus doing something custom opened up a lot of opportunities,” said David.
"Given my past with custom apps, the work difference between Tapcart and a custom app is on par with having a Shopify store versus a custom store. It is that significant.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
Those opportunities included creating better connections with their customers. The team is able to create a push notification much faster than an email, which David says is super powerful for his team’s digital marketing strategy. It enables them to pivot quickly to take advantage of a viral moment, rapidly respond to any issues or opportunities, and stay nimble with their customers.
Enhancing brand engagement through personalized brand engagement
Since the Beekman brand leans into clean beauty ingredients and goat milk, they rely on their app to educate consumers on the benefits and FAQs of their products, including when to use them, how often, and in what order. They used Custom Blocks to design educational content into the app while maintaining their brand look and feel.
Learn how to create a unique VIP customer experience with Custom Blocks
Once the app launched, David and his team employed several tactics to drive downloads and, more importantly, push notification subscribers. Here’s how they kicked off app download promotions:
- They used the Capture Kit to customize a QR code widget and installed it on their desktop website.
- They embedded links to the mobile app in the brand’s welcome email funnel, with downloading the app and subscribing to push notifications as part of the flow.
- They offer a first-time purchase discount in the app.
Supercharging the customer experience with seamless integrations
Beekman 1802 has leveraged several powerful integrations to elevate its app experience. By integrating Gorgias through Tapcart Custom Blocks, it transformed its in-app customer support into a profit center, providing quick and personalized assistance to customers.
Connecting their Klaviyo account with the Tapcart app enabled Beekman 1802 to send personalized and highly targeted push notifications at scale. This integration allows for customer segmentation based on user behavior and location, driving immediate sales growth.
With Yotpo’s Loyalty and Rewards Program, Beekman 1802 offers customers the chance to earn rewards for purchases, referrals, reviews, and VIP activities. This supports creating tailored rewards programs that are updated in real time to optimize engagement and loyalty.
Together, these strategic integrations provide the best CX to a brand’s most loyal customers. Combining in-app customer support, personalized push messaging, and a rewards program supercharged Beekman 1802’s mobile app experience.
Driving downloads and revenue with app-exclusive sales
Recently, the team also launched a mobile app download campaign for their annual warehouse sale, the largest sale of the year. They pushed app downloads as a way to get early sale access, which their customers coveted since some SKUs had less than ten items available. As a result, they saw a 10% lift in downloads over a three-day period.
To continue capitalizing on the sale, they followed up the download with a push notification thanking their customers for the downloads. They also sent a reminder notification the day before the sale and another the morning of, which helped drive app sales — doubling the app’s typical percentage of overall sales.
THE STRATEGY
Boosting engagement with push notifications — and achieving a 37x ROI
Now, after launching in September 2023, the mobile app has seen a 37x return on investment (ROI). But what’s behind these impressive numbers? They developed a strategy that focuses heavily on maximizing their operational efficiency while continuing to deliver value — and ultimately, kindness — to their customers.
Spreading kindness and boosting engagement with push notifications
David’s push notification strategy blends brand ethos with customer engagement. Each week, the Beekman 1802 team sends out kindness affirmations via push notifications to uplift their customers and strengthen the brand connection.
“Push, which has a really special place for us, allows us to reach into our users mobile phones who have built a relationship with the brand,” said David. “What we can’t do once we are given that trust is just bombard them with sale, sale, sale’”
These messages aren’t sales pitches — they include inspirational quotes from figures like Dolly Parton and the Dalai Lama, seasonal skincare tips, and more. They create a unique and intimate touchpoint between the brand and its customers.
This thoughtful take on push notifications has also improved retention and community engagement. Customers check the app more frequently, drawn by the positive content.
As a result, the revenue per session is 29% higher on the mobile app than on the website, and the conversion rate (CVR) is 31% higher on the mobile app than on the website. Sales in the mobile app in the first three months of 2024 have exceeded app sales in Q4 of 2023, which is always a big quarter because of BFCM and the holidays. This shows that the app and push notifications are building customer relationships and driving revenue.
"Our sales on the app within the first three months of the year have exceeded our Q4 sales on the app. That is very healthy growth in terms of building a relationship with those users, building the frequency with which they purchase, as well as building their AOV. So that's very healthy to see.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
Strengthening customer relationships and boosting retention
The relationships these push notifications create not only improved app-user retention but also directly contributed to higher average order value (AOV) and more frequent purchases. As a result, the team has seen mobile app users make higher-frequency purchases than those without the app.
"With the app, we’ve been able to have a relationship and identify the loyal users we are able to build frequency with. It's about making certain that the experience and UX/UI are top-notch, especially for those users. It’s been a great success factor for us.”
David Baker, Chief Digital Officer at Beekman 1802
This has been especially helpful for the team since repurchasing rates have been lower than projected in the past. With the mobile app, they don’t need to worry about winning back their customers — they already have that close connection with them through the app and push notifications. As a result, their app retention rate stands strong at 90.6%.
“[A mobile app] is an opportunity to build that relationship from an LTV perspective with those who've chosen to download and use the mobile app,” said David.
Driving operational efficiency and incremental sales
Despite early hesitations that their user base wouldn’t adopt the app and wouldn’t be able to grow their audience, they’ve seen quick success in their mobile app.
“We’ve seen app growth while also continuing to see growth in our online store,” said David. “That tells me that it’s not a cannibalization of our online store. There’s incrementality there.”
Plus, with the additional benefit of reaching out to their customers via push notifications, they save money by excluding subscribers from SMS and paid advertising.
“[A mobile app] is a great opportunity to reach out to a very high-value target set of individuals and engage with just a single push notification, and do so in a way that is very quick and easy to mobilize,” said David.
Push notifications and the mobile app, as a whole, are helping improve Beekman 1802’s operational efficiency — saving them thousands of dollars in just the first few months of the app launch.
Capitalizing on Black Friday Cyber Monday
To prepare for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM), the Beekman 1802 team made sure to launch their app internally well before November came around. During the time leading up to BFCM, they tested the app and started driving app downloads before the biggest sales day of the year.
While they didn’t offer app-exclusive deals or early access during this first big sale, they used the app as a powerful communications channel to drive incremental sales throughout the holiday weekend.
During BFCM, the app allowed the Beekman team to effectively engage with customers and avoid the high costs of paid media and SMS messages. A well-timed push notification sent to app users on Thanksgiving was extremely effective and contributed to a peak in sessions, AOV, and overall sales for the mobile app.
This year, they plan to test offering exclusive deals and early access to app users before BFCM to capitalize on the app’s potential. The success they saw in 2023 has set the stage for even more strategic use of the app in future high-sales periods.
What’s next for Beekman 1802 and Tapcart?
David and the Beekman 1802 team are excited to continue their partnership with Tapcart, focusing on building solid incrementality in the future. They plan to introduce QR codes to their packaging in the future and work on building up the features in the app to best serve their customers.
“Tapcart’s been a fantastic partner and continues to help drive success and build innovation within the platform,” said David.
