Dive Brief:
- Continuing to enhance its tech offerings, Bath & Body Works has updated its app with additional features to improve the mobile shopping experience and connect consumers with its loyalty program, according to a Friday press release.
- Shoppers can use the app without registering, but customers with accounts can now use biometric authentication such as face ID or a fingerprint to access the app.
- Shoppers can also use the app’s improved store locator tool. Loyalty members still earn early access to new collections, rewards points toward free products and birthday gifts.
Dive Insight:
Bath & Body Works enhanced its mobile app to create a seamless experience and deeper customer engagement. Since introducing its loyalty program and mobile app in 2022, the retailer has garnered more than 37 million active loyalty members. Today, members of its loyalty program make up more than 80% of the retailer’s U.S. sales.
“Our dedication to customers and the experience they have with our brand drives us forward. We work tirelessly to develop moments of truth and service that set us apart and deepen longstanding relationships with all who choose our amazing products,” Maurice Cooper, chief customer officer at Bath & Body Works, said in a statement. “We are excited to offer a more exceptional and seamless digital experience, particularly through our new app, which will bring the power of fragrance to life for millions of customers around the globe.”
Beyond upgrading its mobile app with new features, the retailer is also experimenting with artificial intelligence to introduce shoppers to its scent assortment. Last month, Bath & Body Works said it is preparing to launch a fragrance finder tool, dubbed Gingham Genius, which will use generative AI to provide personalized scent recommendations.
As Bath & Body Works taps tech tools to attract shoppers, the retailer recently made a significant change in leadership. Last month, the company said Julie Rosen, formerly president of retail, would no longer serve in the position, and her role had been eliminated. Rosen was previously responsible for managing Bath & Body Works’ stores, store design and international product functions including merchandising, design, planning and allocation.
In its most recent earnings, the company reported that net sales dipped 2.1% year over year to $1.5 billion, while net income was $152 million, up 54% compared to the year-ago quarter. The retailer attributed that decline in part to its semi-annual sale falling “short of our expectations,” according to CEO Gina Boswell.
