Why Beauty Brands Are Turning to Roblox-Based Phygital Commerce

Beauty brands have a unique advantage when it comes to phygital commerce on Roblox. Elf Beauty is leaning in by launching a virtual kiosk within its existing in-game experience, Elf UP! The kiosk, launched on July 1, sells exclusive physical products like the Elf UP! Pets hoodie and popular skincare products.

Through the kiosk, users can purchase real-world Elf products while engaging in an immersive virtual environment. For connected items sold through the kiosk, buyers receive a “virtual twin,” a digital version of the item that can be used on the platform. The virtual twins were designed in collaboration with Roblox community creators. The Elf shopping kiosk is available to Roblox users in the US on mobile and desktop. The 49 exclusively digital Elf items range in price from 50 to 130 Robux—$1 is equivalent to 740 Robux.

Elf is the second brand to launch “real” e-commerce on Roblox, following Walmart. “Elf looks beyond the now and into the future,” said Patrick O’Keefe, vice president of integrated marketing communications. Elf is targeting more than 13 million visits to its Roblox experience, according to O’Keefe.

Geeiq, a gaming analytics platform, found that Elf’s Roblox experience is the most popular branded beauty experience on the platform, surpassing Givenchy’s “Beauty House,” Sunsilk’s “Hair Care Lab Tycoon,” and Nivea’s “Tower Run.” The experience “takes users on a seamless and dynamic, personalized journey to become successful entrepreneurs and cultural changemakers,” O’Keefe said. To date, the Elf UP! Roblox experience has a 96% positive rating and has distributed more than 1 million free virtual items.

Other beauty brands, including Fenty, Essence and Maybelline, have also launched experiences on the platform. The shared goal is to reach Roblox’s younger, digitally savvy demographic with high spending power and influence. Roblox has more than 200 million active users, mostly from Generation Z, according to data from Roblox.

According to Anne-Liese Prem, head of cultural insights and trends at Loop, “Beauty brands may have more success than clothing in selling connected products, as customers are already more accustomed to trying on makeup and hair virtually using AR filters compared to clothes.” This familiarity with virtual beauty products opens the door to better integration of real-world products.

The November 2023 Roblox Digital Expression Report reveals that over 51% of Roblox users who identify as Gen Z women believe it is important to customize their avatar appearance on a daily or weekly basis.

“By offering virtual counterparts to physical products, Elf seamlessly merges the digital and real worlds, allowing users to express their gaming style in real life and vice versa,” O’Keefe said.

Walmart, meanwhile, is testing out platform-based shopping rates and if it proves successful, it will add more private-label brands to its e-commerce offering.

“Our vision is to empower brands and creators to transform their brand loyalty and user engagement on the platform into a seamless shopping experience for their new and existing audiences,” said Stephanie Latham, Vice President of Global Brand Partnerships at Roblox.

Elf Beauty has significantly increased its marketing spend to support such innovative initiatives, allocating 25% of its net sales to marketing last year, up from 7% five years ago. This investment underscores Elf’s commitment to expanding its reach and engaging consumers through diverse marketing channels.

O’Keefe emphasized the importance of the investment. “This is a new way of looking at commerce: combining virtual engagement with physical product sales around the world,” he said. “By offering products that are meaningful to our community, we can educate and engage our community in an interactive, fun way.”