BirchBox Monthly Deliveries Now With Virtual Reality

Subscription based beauty retailer Birchbox is jumping into VR with the inclusion of Google Cardboard VR headsets for all Birchbox Man subscribers.

Birchbox Man is Birchbox’s male-focused division where men receive a monthly delivery of hair, skincare, tools, and even gadgets delivered to their door.

In partnership with AR/VR company River Studios, Birchbox will begin including a Google Cardboard headset in August, along with four 90-second video clips to try out.  Viewers get to experience everything from surfing inside a wave, slamming turns in NASCAR, and flying high in a helicopter tour with a bird’s-eye view of mountains and a body of water.

With Birchbox having positioned itself as a discovery delivery system for new products, the introduction of VR experiences and Google Cardboard will add another layer to how male-consumers react and in turn consume Birchbox mail-order deliveries.

Each Birchbox Man box costs $20. Birchbox Man and Birchbox (the women’s version that focuses on beauty products) have more than 1 million total subscribers.

With a Google Cardboard headset roughly costing around the same price as other products included in the delivery, Google Cardboard headsets can help setup a longer-term relationship with customers through engaging immersive product experiences.

The big opportunity for Birchbox lies in the fact that now all subscribers will own a Google Cardboard headset. This opens the door for Birchbox to continue offering VR content and eventually test a number of branded experiences. A natural progression from action sports oriented 360-degree experiences like those included now, to added value brand storytelling integration can not only benefit Birchbox’s bottom line, but elevate the entire customer experience and brand affinity to Birchbox vendors.