The Body Shop is a global brand founded by Dame Anita Roddick, a pioneer of ethical beauty, who opened her first store in Brighton in 1976. The focus was on ethical and sustainable products. Under her ownership, The Body Shop grew into a leader in its field before being sold to L’Oréal in 2006. It was purchased by Brazilian Group Natura & Co. in 2017, and in 2024, it was acquired by a consortium led by Auréa Group, whose portfolio is centered on DTC beauty brands. Today, The Body Shop operates over 100 stores across the UK as well as online. In addition to its traditional customer base, the retailer is also working to attract younger consumers to the brand across various digital channels.
The Body Shop boosts conversion by 3% with social proof messaging
Key KPIs delivered by Taggstar
10%
increase in AOV
4%
reduction in basket rate abandonment
1694%
annualised projected ROI
The Challenge
The Body Shop were working with an experimentation and personalisation provider that also offered social proof, but wanted to drive conversion further and inspire purchase confidence in real-time by working with a specialist provider of social proof instead.
Alex Buckingham, global head of digital product at The Body Shop, had experience of implementing Taggstar’s social proof messaging in a former role at menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt. He had witnessed significant success for the conversion rate optimisation tactic at the brand, and so it was natural to want to test Taggstar at The Body Shop too. “It was an easy decision to use Taggstar based on the proof I’ve seen of how well it’s worked in the past,” he says.
It was also important as a tool to improve conversion and bolster consumer confidence following recent changes in ownership and a time of restructuring for the brand. “It was a relatively inexpensive way to improve conversion without having to spend too much time or effort, and so was a very easy sell into the business,” says Buckingham.
The Solution
The initial full-funnel test ran for 40 days across PLP, PDP, and cart in the UK. It featured a range of 12 message variations, including standard messages such as ‘Popular’ and ‘Bestseller’, as well as stronger power phrases designed to align with the brand’s tone of voice, such as ‘Get on the hype!’ and ‘It’s a vibe’.
“Taggstar is an easy win. It’s simple to bolt in and quickly see great results that work across different verticals.”
Alex Buckingham, Global Head of Digital Product
The Results
The social proof messaging test delivered a 3% conversion rate uplift over the 40 days, equating to a projected incremental revenue uplift of more than £800,000 a year. Average order value (AOV) also increased by 10% as customer confidence to buy improved, and they spent more.
The implementation of social proof messaging also helped to reinforce final buying decisions, with The Body Shop witnessing a 4% reduction in basket abandonment as a result. The test equated to an annualised projected ROI of 1694%.
The success of the initial test led to the rollout of social proof messaging within the business. When The Body Shop redesigned and replatformed its website onto Shopify in January 2025, Taggstar was once again implemented as a key sales driver for the retailer.
Buckingham says that Taggstar’s social proof messaging has been a powerful tool for The Body Shop, helping to drive conversion and sales, and to build confidence for customers. “Delivering customer-driven messaging into the eyes of the customer at the right place in the right point in their journey, whether that’s PLP, PDP or cart, is only going to drive conversion,” he says. “It works because it taps into the human psychology of ‘if everyone else is buying it, then it must be good and I should probably have it too’.”
The Future
Since the initial test, The Body Shop has continued to expand its use of social proof messaging, including the implementation of animated icons which help bring messages to life through movement. The brand is also considering seasonal messaging for key peak trading and gifting periods, such as Mother’s Day and Christmas, as well as Attribute Messaging, which surfaces key product information that shoppers might otherwise miss.
The Body Shop is also continuing to experiment with messaging wording, placement and colour. “We went big and bold as brass with this messaging to begin with because it was the right thing to do, but we will consider what else we can do to still make it effective,” says Buckingham.
He says his experience of implementing social proof messaging from Taggstar at two very different companies proves that it works, whoever is using it as a conversion and sales optimisation strategy. “I’ve seen it work on two very different product categories as well as three very different websites after The Body Shop replatformed,” he says.
The Future
Although the results it generated were impressive, the ease of integration was also important for The Body Shop as it went through business change. “Taggstar is an easy win,” says Buckingham. “It’s simple to bolt in and quickly see great results that work across different verticals,” he says.
Marjorie Leonidas, CEO at Taggstar, says: “We always seek to impress our customers, but the ultimate accolade is when, having witnessed success from social proof messaging at other companies, they look to repeat such successes at their new businesses. We proved the power of social proof messaging to Alex at Charles Tyrwhitt and are delighted that we were able to generate similar success at The Body Shop.”
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