In this week’s Store Associates Strategies series, Glossy spotlights the high value of strong store associates amid consumers’ return to retail.
On Aerie’s TikTok, where it has 292,000 followers, content filmed in-store is posted regularly. It’s part of a series called “Associate Picks,” through which the retailer features its associates’ latest favorite products. “We pretty much give them the mic and ask them to tell us about the new arrivals,” said Stacey McCormick, Aerie’s CMO. “She’ll tell us about her favorite things to wear to a graduation party, or her favorite things to wear on a date or for a comfy brunch with a friend.”
An increasing number of brands are featuring store associates on their social media platforms — or, in some cases, incentivizing them to create brand content for their own platforms.
After all, who knows the product they are selling better? And who can talk about it with more authority?
At Aerie, content is produced in-store by Aerie’s social media team. Store associates participate voluntarily; there is no financial or gifting incentive to do so. “It is not the easiest to wrangle, especially when we have as many stores as we do,” McCormick said, noting that the brand tries to avoid taking store associates away from working the store. The content featuring associates and their picks, however, “gets the best feedback and the best results,” she said.
Launched in May 2024, TikToks that are part of Aerie’s “Associate Picks” series now comprise 34 of the brand’s 100 most-viewed TikToks, with nearly 3 million total views. A July 2024 post featuring a store associate trying on a matching set has become the brand’s third-most-viewed of the past year, with over 764,000 views. While, typically, TikTok users scroll after just three seconds, Aerie has found that this series holds attention for over eight seconds.
Other retailers, including Macy’s, do provide associates with perks for their participation in the company’s social content. Macy’s program dedicated to store associates who earn these perks is dubbed “Macy’s Style Crew.” It kicked off in 2017, solely featuring Macy’s employees at the corporate and store levels, but it has since expanded to include influencers and non-employees. Now, 25 of the Style Crew’s 300 rotating members are Macy’s employees, said Andrea Port, Macy’s senior director of social media content and influencer marketing. The program’s members rotate mid-year, with some staying on. Applicants are evaluated based on their engagement and enthusiasm about participating in opportunities presented to the Style Crew. Macy’s also considers diversity in race, ethnicity and body size, the region of the country applicants represent, and associates’ specific areas of expertise.
Employees must have 1,500 followers on either Instagram or TikTok to apply. They are incentivized with gift cards or monetary compensation for appearing in content used on Macy’s social channels. In addition, Style Crew members can earn commissions for content they create on their own channels, via a platform that Port likened to the popular affiliate platform LTK.
“[The program] was really a way to engage colleagues as the authority on what is inside of our stores,” she said.
Ulta Beauty also has a well-established ambassador program for associates dubbed Ulta Beauties. “Our associates are some of the most powerful influencers, and they make a true impact on our guests’ daily lives,” said Stacy Coblentz, associate manager of the Ulta Beauties program. As McCormick and Port said, too, Coblentz believes the value comes down to the value shoppers place on the authenticity and trust that come through in-store associates’ content. These “individuals live and breathe the brand every day,” she said.
Coblentz said she measures the program’s success based on its engagement, earned media value and ability to reach Ulta Beauty loyalists. But also, the program serves as a recruitment program of sorts. “We look at talent acquisition and growth as success. We want to inspire others who are passionate about beauty and want to make it their career to join Ulta Beauty, and our Ulta Beauties give an inside look at what it’s like to work and grow with our company — whether in our stores, in the distribution center or in corporate,” Coblentz said.
Given the general noise on social media, she said, “Today’s beauty lover can sense when someone truly believes in what they’re talking about, and that credibility carries weight.”
