Case Study · Luxury Beauty & Skincare · Shopify AiTrillion × Urban Retreat by Acti-Labs How Urban Retreat Activated a Multi-Channel Revenue Engine on Shopify Using AiTrillion A French luxury beauty and skincare brand with over two decades of heritage and a large global customer base used email marketing, smart popups, workflow automation, loyalty rewards, abandoned cart recovery, and web push notifications to drive consistent repeat revenue. €193K+ Revenue Assisted 50%+ Email Open Rate 30M+ Loyalty Points Earned Urban Retreat by Acti-Labs — Luxury French Beauty · D2C · Shopify About the Brand A Luxury French Beauty House at Lab-Direct Prices Urban Retreat by Acti-Labs is a luxury French beauty house offering professional-quality skincare, bodycare, haircare, makeup, and wellness products at lab-direct prices. Founded by John and Yelena Miller, the brand operates its own manufacturing laboratories in France, bringing dermatologically tested, clinically proven products directly to consumers at a fraction of competitor pricing. With over two decades of heritage, including a 17-year tenure as the top beauty concession on the fifth floor of Harrods serving over a million clients, Urban Retreat has built a reputation rooted in trust, science, and sustainability. Today, the brand sells direct-to-consumer through Shopify to a global customer base spanning the UK, Europe, Australia, and beyond. Their product range spans skincare, body care, hair care, supplements, and custom-blended cosmetics, all backed by independent clinical trials and a full-refund guarantee if results are not visible. They also run an affiliate program and a loyalty club, making retention and community central to their growth model. 🏛️17 years as top beauty concession on the fifth floor of Harrods, serving over 1M clients 🧪Own manufacturing laboratories in France — dermatologically tested & clinically proven 🌍Global D2C footprint across UK, Europe, Australia, and beyond via Shopify ✅Full-refund guarantee backed by independent clinical trials on every product 💎Runs a loyalty club & affiliate program — retention is central to the model The Challenge Turning a Large Audience Into Active Repeat Buyers A global customer base is a significant asset. But size alone does not drive revenue. The challenge for Urban Retreat was converting that large audience into active, repeat buyers through channels that could be measured, optimised, and scaled without requiring constant manual effort. Three specific gaps needed addressing across email attribution, re-engagement systems, and program integration. Core Question How do you activate a global customer base without losing the premium, personal feel of a luxury beauty brand? Email marketing was happening, but without the tools to properly segment, automate, and track revenue attribution across campaigns There was no coordinated system to re-engage customers who browsed without buying, abandoned carts, or had not purchased in a while The brand's loyalty program and affiliate channels were not integrated with their marketing automation, limiting the compounding value of each The Solution Seven Channels, One Platform Urban Retreat activated seven AiTrillion channels simultaneously: email marketing, smart popups, workflow automation, loyalty rewards, abandoned cart emails, web push notifications, and an announcement bar. With all seven running from a single platform and sharing the same customer data, every channel informs and reinforces the others. 1 Channel 01 · Email Marketing The Engine Driving the Majority of AiTrillion Revenue Email is Urban Retreat's highest-performing AiTrillion channel by a significant margin. With 1.4 million emails sent and an open rate of over 50%, roughly two and a half times the beauty industry average, Urban Retreat's email program is one of the strongest indicators of brand engagement in their category. Email drives the majority of AiTrillion-assisted revenue and thousands of direct orders. Emails that reference loyalty points, highlight clinical results, and arrive at the right moment perform fundamentally differently from generic broadcast campaigns. 50%+ open rate · 2.5× industry average 2 Channel 02 · Smart Popups The Conversion Layer Most Brands Underestimate Smart popups are Urban Retreat's second highest-performing revenue channel, contributing a significant share of AiTrillion-assisted revenue and generating hundreds of orders. This is a channel most brands treat as a minor add-on. For Urban Retreat, it is a significant revenue driver. The reason is relevance. AiTrillion's smart popups are triggered by customer behaviour: what they are browsing, how long they have been on site, whether they are new or returning visitors. A well-timed popup with the right offer — a loyalty points reminder or a welcome discount — converts browsers into buyers at the moment of peak intent. #2 revenue channel · Hundreds of orders driven 3 Channel 03 · Workflow Automation Hundreds of Orders Without Lifting a Finger AiTrillion's workflow automation sent tens of thousands of targeted emails based on customer behaviour, generating hundreds of orders and meaningful assisted revenue with zero manual effort per campaign. Automation handles the moments a marketing team cannot manually manage at scale: the welcome sequence for a new subscriber, the re-engagement email for a lapsed customer, the milestone reward for a loyal member's birthday. These sequences run continuously, building the brand relationship between purchases. Tens of thousands of triggered emails 4 Channel 04 · Abandoned Cart Recovery 40%+ Open Rate, Revenue Recovered Of the 18K+ abandoned cart emails sent, over 40% were opened and a strong proportion clicked through. This translates directly into recovered revenue from customers who had already decided to buy and simply needed a final nudge. For a luxury skincare brand where average order values tend to be higher than fast fashion or food, each recovered cart carries meaningful revenue. The click-through rate on abandoned cart emails is particularly strong for the category. 40%+ open rate · 18K+ recovery emails sent 5 Channel 05 · Loyalty Rewards 30 Million+ Points, Community at Scale Urban Retreat's loyalty program has generated 30M+ points earned by customers, with hundreds of thousands of points redeemed. This volume reflects a deeply engaged customer base that is actively participating in the program rather than passively ignoring it. Loyalty in a skincare brand serves a specific function beyond discounts: it creates a habit loop. A customer who earns points on a serum purchase is more likely to return for the matching moisturiser, refer a friend to earn bonus points, or try a new product category they might not have explored otherwise. 30M+ points earned · Hundreds of thousands redeemed 6 Channel 06 · Web Push Notifications Reaching Customers Outside the Inbox With a growing base of web push subscribers and tens of thousands of push notifications sent, Urban Retreat maintains a direct, permission-based channel to reach customers outside of email. Web push is instant, permission-based, and cuts through inbox fatigue — reaching subscribers on the browser or mobile the moment there is something worth telling them. Tens of thousands of push notifications sent 7 Channel 07 · Announcement Bar The Always-On Touchpoint on Every Page The announcement bar contributed additional orders, creating a low-friction touchpoint that converts visitors who are already on the site. Together with the other six channels, it ensures Urban Retreat is present across every stage of the customer journey: discovery, consideration, purchase, and re-engagement. Always-on · Additional orders driven The Results at a Glance Real Impact. Measurable Results. Driving Retention · Delivering Revenue · Powered by AiTrillion € €193K+ Revenue Assisted by AiTrillion ✉ 50%+ Email Open Rate (2.5× Industry Average) ★ 30M+ Loyalty Points Earned by Customers Every Channel, Every Outcome Email Marketing Millions of emails sent, 50%+ open rate (2.5× industry average), majority of AiTrillion-assisted revenue. Smart Popups Second highest revenue channel by contribution, hundreds of orders driven. Workflow Automation Tens of thousands of triggered emails, hundreds of automated orders. Abandoned Cart Recovery Thousands of recovery emails, 40%+ open rate, strong click-through, meaningful revenue recovered. Loyalty Program 30M+ points earned, hundreds of thousands of points redeemed. Web Push Notifications Tens of thousands of push notifications sent, growing subscriber base actively engaged. Overall AiTrillion Impact Thousands of AiTrillion-assisted orders representing a significant share of total store orders. How It Works Multiple Channels, Always Present, Always Personal Most brands invest in email and call it retention. Urban Retreat runs seven channels simultaneously — email marketing, smart popups, workflow automation, loyalty rewards, abandoned cart emails, web push notifications, and an announcement bar — with each catching a different segment of customer at a different moment in their journey. Every touchpoint runs from one platform, so every campaign is smarter than the last. Touchpoint 01 · Loyalty Program A Loyalty Club Customers Actually Use Loyalty in a skincare brand serves a specific function beyond discounts: it creates a habit loop. A customer who earns points on a serum purchase is more likely to return for the matching moisturiser, refer a friend to earn bonus points, or try a new product category they might not have explored otherwise. The UR Loyalty Club is built around four tiers — Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Affiliate — with exclusive sale access at every rung. Why it works: 30M+ points earned reflects a deeply engaged customer base that is actively participating in the program rather than passively ignoring it. Hundreds of thousands of points redeemed reflects customers who trust the program enough to return and spend. Touchpoint 02 · Site Conversion Layer Announcement Bar, Reviews & Smart Popups in Sync The moment a customer lands on the site, three AiTrillion channels go to work. The announcement bar advertises free shipping over £76 as a low-friction incentive. Product reviews (3,073 verified across the catalogue) build trust exactly where the buying decision happens. Smart popups triggered by browsing behaviour offer bundle savings at moments of peak intent. Why it works: Smart popups are Urban Retreat's second highest-performing revenue channel — a channel most brands treat as a minor add-on. The reason is relevance. A well-timed popup with the right offer converts browsers into buyers at the moment of peak intent. What Urban Retreat Gets Right 3 Retention Principles Worth Stealing 01 They made email genuinely worth opening A 50% open rate does not happen by accident. It is the result of sending relevant content to the right segments at the right time. Urban Retreat's email program works because it is connected to loyalty data, purchase history, and behavioural triggers. The emails feel personal because they are informed by real customer context. 02 They use every touchpoint, not just the obvious ones Most brands invest in email and call it retention. Urban Retreat runs seven channels simultaneously. Smart popups convert browsers. The announcement bar captures intent. Web push reaches customers outside the inbox. Workflow automation handles re-engagement. Each channel catches a different segment of customer at a different moment in their journey. 03 They built a loyalty program customers actually use 30M+ points earned reflects genuine engagement. Points only accumulate when customers are buying repeatedly. Hundreds of thousands of points redeemed reflects customers who trust the program enough to return and spend. This is not a dormant loyalty scheme. It is an active part of how Urban Retreat retains its best customers. What This Means for Your Shopify Beauty or Skincare Brand "Retention for a luxury brand is not about discounting. It is about relevance, trust, and being present at the right moment with the right message." Urban Retreat's results are not unique to their scale. The same multi-channel approach works for beauty, skincare, and wellness brands at any size where customers are likely to repurchase. Loyalty builds the habit, email delivers the message, automation makes it consistent, popups convert intent, and cart recovery catches what falls through. When all of these run on one platform with shared customer data, the result is a retention engine that grows stronger with every passing month. AiTrillion brings all of these into one Shopify-native platform, with no complicated integrations and a single view of every customer's journey. Ready to build a retention engine like Urban Retreat? 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