The beauty brand shares how meeting Gen Z shoppers' expectations at checkout has translated into bigger baskets and stronger customer lifetime value.
When Milk Makeup launched out of downtown New York creative agency Milk Studios in 2016, the brand quickly developed a loyal following for its easy-to-use hybrid skincare-makeup products. Since day one, Milk has also championed cruelty-free beauty and self-expression.
Today Milk has a global footprint, with products stocked by retailers including Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Cult Beauty. Part of its success comes down to how well it knows its Gen Z and Millennial customers, who want products that reflect who they are and what they value.
It’s this deep understanding of consumer expectations that led Milk to offer Afterpay.
“All of our competitors were offering Afterpay or some kind of buy now, pay later. For us to be competitive, we have to have Afterpay.”
Michelle Huynh, Milk Makeup's VP of Growth and Digital
Keeping up with the community
Milk recognizes the importance of meeting customers where they are – and that this extends beyond product development. From discovery to checkout, the brand is constantly looking for ways to remove friction and make shopping easier.
“We know that customers value flexibility and accessibility,” Huynh says. So “how do we be agnostic to how the customers want to transact?” Without Afterpay, Milk “would be leaving part of a customer base underserved.”
Lifting sales and lifetime value
Giving customers more choice at the checkout also translates into higher-value sales, with Afterpay customers spending around 44% more per order on average than Milk’s overall customer base.
“Afterpay has definitely increased our average order rate compared to what it is typically,” Huynh says. “Building basket size and allowing new customers to discover a product, or adding an extra product to their carts that they typically might not otherwise.”
But the benefits of bigger basket sizes extend beyond the immediate sale.
If customers are buying more products, Huynh says, there's a greater chance they'll like at least one product enough to come back and repurchase it, which could potentially lead to them “having a better LTV [long-term value].”
Removing barriers. Supporting discovery
Nearly half of Afterpay orders come in under $50, suggesting that shoppers are using Afterpay for casual beauty purchases, and not just expensive hauls. This, combined with the lift in cart value among Afterpay customers, suggest that Afterpay helps customers feel comfortable trying a new product they might have hesitated on.
That willingness to experiment is particularly valuable in beauty, where encouraging customers to add a new product to their routine can be as valuable as attracting a new consumer.
“What surprised us is how [Afterpay] performs even on lower-priced orders. It's not just unlocking big basket sizes; it's removing hesitation at the moment of discovery, which is where a lot of beauty purchases are won or lost.”
Michelle Huynh, Milk Makeup's VP of Growth and Digital
For Huynh, Afterpay is one part of a large conversion strategy. Whenever customers hesitate to purchase, she wants to get to the bottom of it. Is the price the issue? Would a buy now, pay later option help? Are they motivated by loyalty rewards? Is the website too slow? Milk optimizes for every part of the shopping experience. “Any way that we could remove barriers to checking out once they've discovered our brand is something that is a non-negotiable for us,” Huynh says.
Seeing benefits sooner
Afterpay customers love Milk’s core franchise, Hydro Grip, which includes primers, skin tints, and concealers. These basics are consistently the top Afterpay products.
With Afterpay, customers can build a complete routine in a single purchase – rather than purchasing one product at a time – allowing them to enjoy the benefits sooner while spreading the cost over time.
Since Milk Makeup partnered with Afterpay, Afterpay customers have spent more than one million dollars with the brand – a figure that reflects years of meaningful loyalty from Afterpay customers.
Without Afterpay, says Huynh, “we'd be leaving a part of our customer base underserved. Some shoppers plan purchases carefully and want to spread the cost.”
All references to any registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Afterpay does not endorse or recommend any one particular supplier and the information provided is for educational purposes only.
Categories