Inside Lush Cosmetic’s crazy new digital store
Japan is known for its weird and wonderful attractions, but there’s a new store that’s pulling in the crowds.
Having an item for sale without a price tag seems like the kind of awkward mistake you’d want to avoid if you’re a global brand opening a new store.
But that’s exactly what Lush Cosmetics has done at its new mega outlet in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku district.
However, it wasn’t some glaring error made by the 25-year-old beauty company. The decision to not place any signs or product information was completely deliberate.
Sounds bonkers, right?
But it’s actually the next step for Lush in their quest towards being as waste free as possible, launching new technology that cuts out the need for signage by using an app called Lush Labs.
It works by scanning “naked” items — Lush’s packaging free products — and feeding customers all the information they need, from ingredients through to price and even playing tutorial clips.
Jack Constantine, Lush’s Chief Digital Officer told news.com.au the future of its stores are using this technology to lead the way with waste reduction.
“Over the twelve years we’ve been looking at digital technologies and over the last three or four we’ve been focusing on how we want to ethically behave in that arena based on the way we are as a business,” he said.
“We’ve always looked at packaging free products, what ingredients we use and how we can look after the environment — and technology plays a big role in everyone’s lives.
“Technology for us now is about becoming digital packaging, evolving our ethics to the next step and providing information so we no longer need to have labels.”
From the moment you step into the four-level space, you’re smacked in the face with attention-grabbing features, such as the shower jellies — one of the brand’s signature products — that have been transformed into interactive bongo drums, complete with different bass beats.
There’s also interactive art you can play with and a sushi train filled with guilt-free goodies. Not to mention a bonanza of smells, colours and textures.
Outside is a huge digital screen that lights up and blends in with Tokyo’s famous neon light landscape.
Visitors can even shop when the store is closed, using a clever creation that gives a whole new meaning to window shopping, a “shoppable window”.
It’s active 24 hours a day where customers and passers-by can scan and buy products, day or night, resulting in the goodies being delivered direct to their door — in fully recyclable and compostable packaging, of course.
For a company best known for their bright bath bombs and potent fragrance, the Japanese store is a giant leap into the future of waste reduction.
Since launching in 1995, Lush has always taken an active role in trying to reduce the beauty industry’s production of plastic, a staggering 120 billion units each year — the majority of which is believed to end up in landfill.
Its products have all got minimal packaging, if any at all, choosing to encourage customers to buy “fresh” beauty items, using alternative options to plastic such as wax, potato starch and even popcorn.
The company says 50 per cent of their products are now sold “naked” — from shampoo bars to shower jellies and of course, Lush’s signature bath bombs. And when they have to use packaging, they offer incentives for customers to return them for recycling.
In 2012, the brand made its clear bottles thinner by 10 per cent, reducing the business’ use of plastic by more than 6000kg each year.
Co-founder Rowena Bird, told news.com.au she hopes other leading cosmetics companies will follow suit.
“Hopefully other beauty companies look at what Lush and take inspiration thinking, ‘What part of that can we do?’,” she said.
“We’re a very transparent business, we’re not hiding anything. We’re always telling people what we’re doing as we want others to reduce their waste too. We don’t discover new technology and keep it to ourselves, we love sharing.”
The Lush Labs app, which translates information to consumers in English, Korean, Japanese and Simplified Chinese, is available on iOS and Android and was originally tested on the brand’s Harajuku bath bomb-only store that opened in November last year.
Since then it has been revised and become accessible across the globe with the Shinjuku opening.
Asia’s flagship store — which still has a luxury spa on the fourth floor due to open in August — is like nothing we have in Australia.
Sydney’s QVB shop, which opened in 2016 after moving from a smaller premises, is currently the biggest of the 12 outlets Lush have in Australia and New Zealand, a number which Lush is hoping to expand in the near future.
The writer travelled to Tokyo courtesy of Lush.