The Dawn of High-Tech Beauty on the Go
Valued at USD66.514 billion in 2024, the global travel retail cosmetic market is expected to grow by 10.6% CAGR until 2031, signifying the dawn of an era of convenience in beauty shopping while travelling.
Often tight in their schedules, modern travellers seek immediate beauty/skincare solutions, especially products that they may have forgotten to pack or cannot access temporarily owing to transit delays, layovers, etc. This has led to a demand for innovative retail formats that can meet their on-the-go requirements quickly and innovatively.
Benefit Cosmetics, a brand recognized for its playful and approachable beauty offerings, identified this evolving consumer need and responded with the introduction of its ‘Glam Up & Away’ automated kiosks, back in 2013. This rather head-turning airport beauty kiosk initiative, showcasing 30 popular products packed attractively in a vintage pink beauty bus vending machine, blended the need to deliver quality cosmetics through a unique, convenient, and technologically driven format.
Understanding the correlation of foot-traffic with the success of vending machines, the first phase of rollout of Benefit Cosmetic’s vending machines witnessed the installation of 25 kiosks across key airports, including New York’s JFK airport (Terminals 2 & 5), Houston International Airport, and Las Vegas’ McCarren International Airport. The concept has since seen international expansion, with Canada becoming the first market outside the U.S., beginning with Calgary International Airport in Spring 2018.
What Are Benefit’s Automated Beauty Kiosks?
The “Glam Up & Away” kiosks are more than just typical vending machines; they are thoughtfully designed retail units intended to capture attention and enhance shopping experience of customers. Sleek, compact and vibrantly coloured, not locking eyes with these vintage pink beauty buses while passing by, is improbable. Aligned with the brand’s playful brand image, the kiosk is designed to encourage impulse purchases followed by sharing on social media.
Stocked with approximately 30 best-selling products, Benefit’s Glam Up & Away features beauty must-haves such as brow kits, travel-sized mascaras like- ‘They’re Real!’ mascara, POREfessional primer, Hoola bronzer, mini make-up kits and more. The options are available in full-size as well as TSA-approved Benefit’s travel-size products, catering directly to the needs of air travelers and complying with air travel regulations at the same time.
These automated beauty vending machines further feature user-friendly touchscreen interfaces that allow customers to
- easily navigate through the available products,
- use multiple contactless payment methods for quick transactions and billing
- access detailed product previews as well as helpful beauty tips and tricks
- access on-the-go mirrors, providing an added convenience for travelers wanting to apply or check their makeup.
Where Can You Find Them?
Benefit Cosmetics strategically deployed its “Glam Up & Away” kiosks in major airports across the United States, including high-traffic locations like New York’s JFK (Terminals 2 & 5), Houston International Airport (IAH) and Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport (LAS). Other early Benefit airport kiosk USA locations included Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Savannah (SAV) and Cleveland (CLE). As a part of its international expansion, Benefit’s kiosks were launched in Canada at Calgary International Airport in Spring 2018.
Benefit vending machine locations included high-footfall terminals, near gates, and in other high-traffic areas like the vicinity of security checkpoints or within airport lounges. These are the areas where the maximum number of passengers spend their time waiting, making them high-visibility environments that capture the attention of travellers and encourage impulse purchases.
Following the success of Benefit’s airport kiosks USA and Canada, the LVHM is all set for a broader international expansion. Being operational in 59 nations, with 3000 brow bars and 85 boutiques, the company envisions high customer engagement through the head-turning vintage beauty kiosk globally.
Why Travellers Love Benefit’s Beauty Kiosks
They are gorgeous; they are eye-catching; and they are certainly one of those sales points where beauty enthusiasts would love to stop, click and post online.
Besides being visual treats and instant dopamine boosters, these on-the-go beauty solutions offer an array of conveniences to time-constrained travellers, a move that has spiked their popularity in recent years.
Firstly, by combining brand assurance with carefully selected product categories, Benefit’s Glam Up & Away eliminates the need to run counter to counter in conventional beauty stores searching for desired products, especially during short layovers and the often confusing layouts of unfamiliar airports.
Secondly, the kiosks provide a valuable time-saving solution for travelers needing quick touch-ups before important meetings upon arrival at their destination. This is one reason why Benefit’s airport makeup must-haves, such as mini makeup kits, highlighters, mascaras, etc., experience high demand throughout the year.
Thirdly, Benefit’s kiosks further serve as a seamless, convenient sales point for emergency beauty purchases when essential items may have been forgotten or misplaced. They address the immediate needs of travelers who might require a last-minute beauty fix, saving them from potential inconvenience or a feeling of being unprepared.
Fourthly, the availability of travel-friendly cosmetics kits also makes Benefit’s beauty kiosks a breakthrough sales point that encourages spontaneous gift purchases.
The Technology Behind the Wow-on-Wheels
Debuting the Glam Up & Away called for substantial technological investments in the part of this premium cosmetic brand, ensuring that the features align with contemporary retail standards while enhancing the overall user experience. This beauty tech innovation thus used sophisticated automated vending machine technology to support –
- seamless, user-friendly interactive interfaces to facilitate hassle-free navigation of products,
- secure payment processing systems supporting a wide range of contactless payment options
- automated inventory management to ensure product availability at all times.
Leveraging sophisticated tech integrations, Benefit Cosmetics has succeeded in maintaining reliability and operational efficiency in its kiosks,
Besides making the purchase process fun and easy, the interactive touchscreen interface of the Kiosks presents a potential avenue for future integration, such as displaying promotional offers or allowing loyalty program members to earn and redeem points or access exclusive deals through these smart retail kiosks.
Furthermore, the kiosks can leverage sales data from each location, enabling Benefit to refine the product assortment to better align with the specific needs and preferences of travellers passing through these airports. This potentially leads to increased sales and reduced instances of unsold inventory.
Given that different airports serve different segments of travelers, such as business travelers, leisure travelers, and those on international or domestic flights, analyzing sales data from each kiosk could reveal patterns in product demand. This would allow Benefit Cosmetics to customize their product mix to maximize sales while catering to the unique needs of the airport’s passenger profile.
Benefit Cosmetics’ Vision for the Future of Travel Retail
Several insights from Benefit Cosmetics executives provided over the years offer a clear picture of their vision for the “Glam Up & Away” kiosks.
Jean Andre Rougeot, Benefit Cosmetics CEO, emphasized the strategic importance of this venture by stating, “High-traffic airports are the next beauty battleground for prestige cosmetics brands. Benefit is grabbing first-mover advantage“.
Julie Bell, Benefit Cosmetics EVP Global Marketing, highlighted the brand’s personality and the innovative nature of the kiosks, describing them as “Wow on Wheels! What a sexy, fun and innovative way to introduce Benefit’s witty and playful personality to the hundreds of millions of travelers who fly every year”.
Deny DiFelice, General Manager, Benefit Cosmetics Canada, underscored the brand’s experiential aspect, noting that the kiosk “brings that aspect of our brand to life in an oversized, tangible way – making travelers stop, smile, and easily glam up before a flight”.
These statements reveal Benefit’s strategic objective to establish a strong and prominent presence within the travel retail market, capitalizing on the Beauty Retail Trends of high foot traffic in airports, both domestic and international, to reach the largest number of audience.
Powered by their slogan ‘Laughter is the best cosmetic’, The Glam Up & Away kiosks have aligned perfectly with Benefit Cosmetics, establishing a quirky, sassy and always so amusing brand identity. The playful bubblegum-pink bus design of the kiosks, coupled with the brand’s signature cheeky slogans and their focus on providing instant and innovative beauty solutions, all reflect the core values of the brand that seek connection, centered on relevance and convenience to customers, making it the future of airport shopping.
Given its success in the USA, Benefit Cosmetics clearly stated its intention for international expansion with a continued commitment to this innovative self-service retail format. The successful expansion into Canada following the initial rollout in the US demonstrates a strategic and phased approach to penetrating global markets. Beauty enthusiasts can thus expect to spot the vintage pink bus across top airports in their cities in the very near future.
Final Thoughts: Is This the Future of Airport Beauty?
Benefit Cosmetics’ Glam Up & Away kiosks have clearly sent out the message that lounging in the airports need not be boring anymore. The distinctive design of the kiosks, their strategic placement in high-traffic airport locations and their carefully curated selection of the brand’s best-selling products have resonated with travelers, flooding social media platforms with selfies, videos and other user-generated content surrounding this stunning piece of retail innovation.
Modern travellers value their time and thus resist spending hours running through shelves and aisles to locate cosmetic products that are commonly required on the go, be it a lip balm, hair spray, mascara, compact makeup kit or even perfumes/deodorants. When customers approach self-service beauty kiosks of renowned brands like Benefit, they already know what they want and can access the same in less than a minute with quick browsing, quick product selection and instant contactless payments.
Benefit’s Glam Up & Away initiative suggests a promising future for automated beauty retail not only in airports but also in other transit hubs and high-footfall locations, indicating a potential shift in how beauty products are retailed to on-the-go consumers.
Have You Spotted A Glam Up & Away Near You?
Glam Up & Away is making its way to many international destinations. Have you spotted one at your airport yet? Let us know in the comments!
If you’re looking to create memorable retail experiences in high-traffic travel hubs, Ogmento brings smart vending machine innovation built for the pace and potential of travel retail. From concept to deployment, we specialize in transforming kiosks into brand touchpoints that engage, convert, and delight on-the-go consumers. Let’s bring your brand to life where it matters most.
Connect with us at hello@ogmento.com
