2010 seemed to be the year of the site redesign, and one of the most improved sites to re-launch in the beauty space is the new US Yves Saint Laurent Beauty and Fragrance website.
The new site is not only attractive, but boasts a number of functionality advancements, including:
- An enticing home page with large, beautiful images, lots of attention to YSL’s star product, Touche Eclat, and an accessible layout
- Dramatically improved site navigation, allowing users to search and discover products in a myriad of ways. Categories encompass bestsellers, award winners, and more
- Detailed product information, including large shade swatches and complete ingredient lists
- Select videos and how-to’s
- Shade selectors for finding the right shade of Touche Eclat or lipstick for your skin tone
- Online product exclusives not available in-store
As developed as it is, the site still lacks in a few areas:
- Social media integration: Aside from two small Facebook and Twitter links in the footer of the page, I did not see any integration with social media. At a minimum, there is an easy opportunity to connect each product page with Facebook’s open graph.
- Inspiration and education: There are a few helpful videos and a bit of information about Mr. Saint Laurent himself, but I would expect more from such a storied brand.
- Still some bugs to be worked out: Clicking around the site, I came across more than a few glitches. From links resulting in error pages to the buggy store locator, it isn’t a luxury experience to wonder whether or not the next button you hit will cause an error.
The other big question… What about Fashion, Handbags, and the variety of other products that share the YSL name?
Well, you’ll have to do some searching for that, and you may eventually see a small link in the footer titled “YSL Fashion,” but that’s about the only acknowledgement you’ll get that the YSL brand also contains a Fashion line. (It’s the same story the other way around. The YSL Fashion site gives little mention of YSL Beauty and Parfums.)
The challenge that faces YSL, along with other brands such as Dior and Chanel, is embodied in the fact that different teams often manage the fashion and the beauty sides of the business, and, in many cases, completely different companies! (L’Oreal recently purchased YSL’s beauty division.) In addition, aspects of the enterprise have such varying price points that distinct strategies, as it relates to e-commerce, are often employed.
It’s a shame, really, since both ends of the business would see advantages from being more closely tied with the other. However, as long as each category is managed separately, there won’t be an easy solution.
What brands do you think do a good job of balancing their varying product categories on one website? Let us know in the comments below.
All articles are reviewed and copy edited by Gina Conforti
