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ABOUT THE BRAND

BÉIS is famous for luxurious-but-affordable on the go and travel accessories.

Meet BÉIS, a on the go and travel accessory company that's surely all over your Instagram feed. Founded by actress Shay Mitchell, the brand sells luxurious but reasonably-priced travel gear perfect for making its customers look stylish on the go.

Recently we sat down with Julie Chalker, VP of Digital & eCommerce at BÉIS, to discuss how BÉIS is using its mobile app to improve retention and help build a loyal community.

“We don't want our consumers to ever have to choose between form and function,” Julie said of the brand’s collections. “And ultimately, our end goal is to get our product into your hands, keep you organized, and looking good.”

Just how big of a following does BÉIS have? Over a million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined. Plus, with collabs with Barbie The Movie, pop-ups all over the biggest cities around, partnerships with major influencers, and sponsorships with popular podcasts, there's no question that the company is rapidly expanding. 

And one reason for that success? A commitment to anticipating customers’ wants and needs now and in the future. According to Julie, the brand is intent on putting the best experience forward for its consumers and knowing exactly where they need to be in the market to do just that.

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THE CHALLENGE

BÉIS saw an app as an opportunity to diversify, scale, and boost customer loyalty.

Unlike many Tapcart customers, BÉIS didn't turn to a mobile app to solve a problem. There was no challenge. Instead, the company saw an opportunity.

Why exactly did BÉIS turn to Tapcart? According to Julie, Tapcart was not only a good fit for the brand, but could also deliver a new app very quickly. With Tapcart, they only needed a couple of weeks to develop an on-brand app with a marketing strategy.

“We want to be where the consumer is, but we also want to be where we think the consumer is going to be in the future…  And so I thought of introducing a mobile application not just as another revenue channel for us, but also to introduce an additional way for us to have an experience for our consumers. A two-way conversation. It was kind of a no-brainer”
Julie Chalker, VP of Digital & E-Commerce

Besides, Tapcart’s features and benefits checked a lot of the company’s boxes. This includes driving profitable growth, especially through push notifications, which are free. Also on the company's list of goals? Increasing customer loyalty and retention.

“The metrics speak for themselves,” Julie said. “In terms of the engagement rates and in the repeat purchase rates that we see from the mobile application in expanding our reach and diversifying our acquisition strategies.”

The three goals that matter most to Julie and her team are: 

1. Driving profitable growth
2. Diversifying acquisition strategies 
3. Increasing customer retention

Of course, achieving these goals does not come from a mobile app alone. It's the diversification of channels,  platforms, and strategies that enables success for BÉIS.

“It can be everything from expanding into a new channel, like a mobile application, or working with our brand marketing team on some type of activation, like a pop-up. But we really try to focus on rowing in the same direction.”

Julie also believes having a healthy mix of media can boost a customer's lifetime value (LTV) and help keep customer acquisition costs low. She underscores the importance of understanding upfront what the purpose of any channel is and setting very clear goals and metrics for that channel.

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THE SOLUTION

The BÉIS app is a low-lift lever that builds a loyal community with exclusivity.

Because Tapcart is designed to be an extension of a company’s Shopify store, BÉIS found that its new mobile app was super low lift. That means, according to Julie, that the channel fits seamlessly into the existing operational and marketing approach. 

But what the app did do was enhance the brand’s go-to-market strategy by providing another avenue to communicate with customers. Of course, that doesn't always mean trying to make a sale. After all, even the best consumers don't always want to be sold to. And BÉIS is careful not to turn them off by always pushing. Instead, the goal is constant engagement. That way, when these customers are ready to make a purchase, BÉIS is top of mind.

“Our consumers are highly engaged, very enthusiastic on social, and all they want is more content outside of our product, whether it's behind the scenes at our photo shoots or exclusive interviews with Shay… Being able to bring [the content] into our app has been a real benefit and a big draw.”
Julie Chalker, VP of Digital & E-Commerce

So, how does the brand get its customers on the app? Exclusivity. App customers can preview new products and unlock behind-the-scenes content 24 hours before anyone else. This type of exclusivity gets customers excited, builds hype and demand, and has been an excellent tool for driving downloads.

After all, there's value in the number of downloads and push subscribers. Julie says that focusing on exclusive content and app previews has been an effective way for the brand to build that list in the same way that SMS and email subscribers are an asset. Plus, once customers have the app, it's much easier to stay in touch with them until they're ready to buy again.

The company's brand marketing team also handles a fair amount of activations. At these events, BÉIS remains focused on driving customers to the app.

“We've really done a good job of conveying to our consumer that, hey, if you love our brand and you want to engage with us and feel more a part of the brand, when you're at these activations, download our app… We've been able to track that within separate campaigns, and it's been a really effective way for us to continue to drive downloads while not cannibalizing from our other retention programs.”
Julie Chalker, VP of Digital & E-Commerce

Another opportunity for exclusivity? Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 2023's holiday season will be the first the company has had an app, and Julie and her team are excited about what they will be able to offer exclusively to app customers.

What exactly will be the BFCM experience? BÉIS customers will just have to download the app and find out for themselves.

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THE RESULTS

Nobody buys a suitcase every month, but BÉIS’s app keeps customers close until they’re ready.

When we talked to Julie, she was quick to mention that when she looked at the metrics and conversion rates of the app versus the website, the mobile app numbers were really, really strong.

BÉIS also remains a big believer in push notifications, a form of retention communication the company simply did not have before building an app.

“For the last couple of months, we've seen around 12% growth in terms of the revenue that's coming from those push notifications. And again, those are free, right? So every time you send an SMS or an email, that costs you, but when you're sending a push notification, that doesn't cost you a dime. It costs nothing to communicate with your consumer from your mobile application.”
Julie Chalker, VP of Digital & E-Commerce

Of course, push notifications aren't always driving a sale. Just like Tapcart customer Obvi, BÉIS sees push notifications as a fantastic opportunity to bring customers closer to the brand via shared values and engaging contact.

“Really, the world is our oyster in terms of the content that we serve to our consumers,” Julie said. 

So, was BÉIS nervous about cannibalizing its other channels when introducing the app? The company doesn't really think like that. After all, according to Julie, if the value of the customer increases even if you steal them from the site, the value of that customer increases, plain and simple.

“I don't care if I'm putting them on the app. If that's the experience they want and that's going to encourage them to spend more with us, that's the route we're going to go.” 

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Find out how BÉIS and top brands — like Princess Polly, Aviator Nation, and Glamnetic — are breaking boundaries and sales records with Tapcart. Let's chat.