Ten years after the launch of its online e-commerce site, the French-based cosmetics retailer is making headlines with the inauguration of its first connected beauty store Wednesday. Situated at number 66 of Paris's shopping axe rue de Rivoli, the first Sephora Flash boutique opens its doors to a new, digital and decidedly contemporary beauty shopping experience.

Interactive terminals, mural tablets, digital shelves, selfie mirrors and even phone chargers: without a doubt, Sephora is breaking with conventional shopping codes, ushering in the 3.0 boutique concept.

Sephora Flash boutiques will have a much smaller surface size than traditional sites, covering around 100 square meters and at first glance seem to stock a limited number of products. Indeed, the physical items in-store have almost been halved compared to the classic Sephora retail space yet beauty addicts can actually discover and purchase from over 150 brands and 14,000 products thanks to virtual shopping.

A two-level shopping experience

One of the main changes to the in-store client experience begins with the shopping basket. Clients are given a physical one for direct purchases from a large selection of makeup and skincare and a digital basket in the form of an NFC card. This allows shoppers to access the brand's online boutique of around 14,000 references thanks to various terminals, tablets and digital shelves throughout the store.

All purchases can be paid for at the counter. Selected beauty items in-store can be immediately brought home whereas items selected online are delivered either to your home or at the Sephora Flash boutique.


Fragrances only a click away

As a specialist of select fragrances, Sephora has showcased a linear wall dedicated to premium-classic perfumes as well as niche fragrances with a wide selection of testers.

Each tester is equipped with NFC tags that allow shoppers to access a multitude of information on the product, from a simple description to the shopper's personal digital basket page. To do this, all you have to do is deposit the tester on the connected screen.


Personalized beauty services

To round up the connected shopping experience, clients can also benefit from a number of services: a makeup bar, beauty bar, Make Up For Ever eyelash bar and a brow bar by Benefit. All the services are guided by expert specialists for an express beauty makeover combined with personalized advice.

On your way out, don't forget to pass by the Flash bar to take your very own large-scale selfie in the aptly-named selfie-mirror, recharge your smartphone and pick out some well-deserved beauty samples thanks to a dedicated digital distributor.