Beauty-tech startup sees exponential growth with e-commerce space

Having already built a strong foundation within the region and a notable list of investors including Saudi Aramco Ventures Waed, Wamda, Saudi Venture Capital Company, and others, Saudi based Golden Scent has seen exponential self-sustaining growth in recent months. In line with expectations, the categories which showed the most promising growth were make-up and home fragrances, each displaying 4x growth in sales in comparison to other categories.

In this moment of growth Golden Scent also presents a renewed commitment for social responsibility initiatives, one of which is designed to give back to its alumni amidst the growing uncertainty within the market. A fund has been created as a means to continue to support the Golden Scent network both financially and socially, in order for them to gain traction in these challenging times.  

The unprecedented events of the last few months have required a more focused, agile approach in adapting to the new reality and customer needs. Golden Scent continues to provide a safe and secure supply chain of its vast beauty catalog of almost 30,000 products, (fragrance and beauty) ensuring that the safety of its customers and employees remains of paramount importance. The usage of cashless payment methods like Apple Pay has seen double-digit adoption rates during this time. In addition, Golden Scent introduced contactless delivery to ensure the safest possible customer experience. The delight and safety of the customers are at the heart of Golden Scent’s long-term strategy as a beauty-tech company since the beginning, so much so, that the start-up, two years ago introduced Augmented Reality as a feature in E-Commerce business. 

The Augmented Reality feature (or AR), allows the user of the Golden Scent app to virtually try on beauty products from the comfort of their home. With the click of a button, the online shopper can now try on endless realistic makeup looks without the hassle of removal or physical presence in a shop. Eliminating these barriers for the consumer with the use of AR technology led to a 300% increase in the time spent on the app and a 400% increase in engagement – surpassing peak seasons and selling periods seen previously.

Providing helpful tools to enhance the shopping experience proved to be the right strategy especially during these times, as reflected in the 30% increase in the average cart value. “The conscious decision to invest heavily in tech, content and a seamless online shopping experience gives Golden Scent as an already profitable business, a unique position in setting new standards for customer satisfaction. In this new phase of the market for offline retailers, the restriction of movement has accelerated the transition to digitalization.  Strategically brands are partnering with us because of our constant commitment to delivering the highest standards of online presence” says Malik Al Shehab, CEO of Golden Scent. Golden Scent’s solid and financially sound governance and the resilient team not only guaranteed a successful passage through the challenges of the market but are guiding the next steps of expansion and growth.