Birchbox, a beauty e-commerce company headquartered in New York, USA, has operated on a monthly subscription model since its founding in 2010: automatically deducting $10 from users' credit cards each month to send them 4 to 6 cosmetic samples. Each month, Birchbox staff select samples based on users' personal preferences, and include product introductions and usage instructions in the sample box. When purchasing full-priced cosmetics, consumers can use accumulated points to receive certain discounts.
The brands Birchbox partners with mainly fall into two categories: one is high-quality niche brands lacking funding and distribution channels, and the other is well-known brands like Kiehl's, Benefit, and MAC. Initially, Birchbox only served female users, but later expanded its target audience to include men, developing "lucky bags" for men that contain 4 to 5 items such as shaving foam, deodorant, or skincare products, and sometimes even socks and games.
Birchbox has physical stores in New York and Washington, D.C., adopting a vertical marketing approach in-store, organizing products by function rather than brand. Additionally, the physical stores allow consumers to choose and mix their own cosmetic box combinations to meet various needs.
