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Taste as the Differentiator & Building beyond the Hype

+ are personal avatars the future of shopping?

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VAAN
May 27, 2025

This month, we’re exploring what happens when celebrity-backed brands need more than a massive following to convert. We’re spotlighting our latest case study on r.e.m. beauty, Modani’s approach to tactile ecomm, and the rise of AI avatars in online shopping.

Let’s dive in. 

Taste as the Differentiator

AI and tech tools are making it easier to build, the real challenge now is standing out in a sea of sameness. 

True taste doesn’t come from scrolling Pinterest or TikTok; it comes from deep, intentional exposure to diverse disciplines, cultures, and ideas.

As Jamey Gannon puts it, cross-pollination is key:

  • Designers watching film

  • Copywriters reading history

  • Founders studying conversion design

How do you build your mental library? 

Putting the User at the Center of the Experience (literally)

Doji just raised $14M to reinvent online shopping with AI-generated avatars.

Sims meets e-commerce where users upload a few selfies, and the app creates a realistic avatar that can try on clothes from their favorite brands.

We’ve gone from size charts and model comparisons to digital twins, so are personal avatars the future of shopping?

Tactile Luxury Meets Scalable DTC

Modani is known for making modern, European-inspired furniture more accessible. But selling something so tactile online can be a challenge.

We migrated Modani from Magento to Shopify, reimagining the UX to bring their showroom experience online.

What we focused on:

  • Interactive 3D product renderings and consistent visual hierarchy for discoverability

  • Immersive merchandising using lifestyle imagery, product hotspots, and swipeable carousels

  • A UX/UI system that reduces friction for simpler purchases (like coffee tables and end tables)

In conversation with co-founder Nathan Cohen:

People don’t just want to buy furniture, they want to create a space that feels put together. That’s why our showrooms are curated like real homes. It removes the guesswork and boosts confidence at checkout.

And in today’s market?

With housing sales slowing, we’re focusing on existing homeowners who want to refresh their space. Modern luxury doesn’t have to mean moving into a new home, it’s about creating a space you love, right where you are.

How to Build Beyond the Hype

Celebrity-backed brands launch with massive momentum, flipping the demand curve overnight. But that kind of fast-tracked visibility can expose cracks in the digital experience. If left unaddressed, it limits long-term growth and weakens brand equity.

Here’s what we did for rem beauty to build beyond the hype:

  • Identified friction with WEVO research, heatmaps, and analytics

  • Redesigned for mobile-first (90%+ of traffic!), improving hierarchy, swatches, and CTAs

  • Balanced sleek aesthetics with fast performance (no more lagging pages)

  • Embedded Ariana’s story into PDPs and across the site, so the brand felt personal not just endorsed

The results:
+18% AOV
+36% Conversion Rate
+91% Completed Checkout Rate

From the Feed: Sensory Touch points

In-person brand activations are powerful, but they’re usually limited in touchpoints. Digital content, like podcasts and YouTube, offers scalable, ongoing engagement.

That got us thinking: how are beauty brands translating sensory moments into the digital world?

We explored this in our latest article on sensory marketing, spotlighting Rhode’s cinnamon-roll launch, Makeup by Mario’s watermelon gloss, and how brands are baking emotional appeal into every detail, without needing an IRL event.

What does a truly sensory web experience look like and who’s doing it well?

thanks for tuning in!
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