Since its launch in 2007, Sephora's Beauty Insider loyalty program offered customers one beloved perk independent of how much money they spend at the store.
Each year, members get to pick a birthday gift that has over the years included everything from small bottles of Dior fragrances to full sizes of popular makeup items.
DON'T MISS: Why I Stopped Shopping at Sephora
Over the last 16 years, the beauty offering has evolved to feature more and more choices. The LVMH (LVMHF) -owned chain has partnered with a number of both classic and up-and-coming cosmetics brands and at one point even made it possible to get 250 points, or the equivalent of $5, if one did not find a gift one liked.
Sephora/TheStreet
No More Purchase-Free Birthday Gift Shipping, Sephora Says In Email
To claim the gift, Beauty Insiders could either come into a store at any point during one's birthday month or order it to get shipped online with or without a purchase.
The last part is what Sephora is taking aim in its latest tweak to the beauty program. In an email sent to its loyalty members on May 1, the chain said that shoppers will now "need to make a minimum merchandise purchase of $25 to redeem their Beauty Insider birthday gift at sephora.com and sephora.ca."
While those who come inside the stores can still get the gift without making a minimum purchase, one will no longer be able to get it shipped to them without spending money.
"Find a store near you to choose your gift during your birthday month," Sephora wrote in the email.
Insider is the free tier of membership that anyone who registered a phone number at the store and started collecting points automatically becomes. Those who spend $350 and $1,000 a year unlock higher tiers with more perks and faster point accumulation.
While Sephora did not expand on the reasons for the change, the rising cost of both shipping and shipping materials make sending over the gift without a purchase not a particularly sound financial move.
Still, the change did not go over well with a large segment of Sephora shoppers. Many of them went straight to social media to voice their displeasure.
'Fewer and Fewer Reasons to Shop There,' Say Angry Internet Users
"Burn Sephora down!" one Twitter wrote in a post that got nearly 300 likes.
"As much as I love Sephora, I am finding fewer and fewer reasons to shop there," Sarah of the @callmeasafetbet user name wrote. "If Ulta (ULTA) did expand into Canada as they planned to pre-covid, I'm sure there would be a ton of people who'd switch to primarily shopping there instead."
In the last earnings call, LVMH reported a 30% growth in sales in the shopping category that includes both Sephora and the Duty Free Store one sees at airports.
Sephora, which currently has over 2,700 stores around the world, has been trying new things under newly-appointed CEO Guillaume Motte.
It launched a $49-a-year subscription offering free and faster shipping to frequent buyers in September 2022 and partnered with delivery platform DoorDash (DASH) for doorstep deliveries in November.
Sephora is also currently getting ready to open a 6,000-square-foot flagship store in the Shepherds Bush district of London after exiting the country in 2005 amid too much competition in the space.
