Combating Racial Bias in Retail

[SephoraBIC]

We’ve heard many of you report encounters of biased treatment in our stores and we take those accounts seriously. To combat systemic racism, we need to change the systems in which we operate – especially at Sephora stores. We’re on a mission to reverse racial profiling and the unfair treatment of Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) in the retail industry.

In January 2020 we commissioned a first-of-its-kind, national study on racial bias in retail led by top experts on race and discrimination in commerce, Dr. Cassi Pittman Claytor and Dr. David Crockett. Now, we’re sharing some of our initial findings and the changes we’re making.

In order to fight racial bias as an industry, we have a responsibility to name it, understand what contributes to it, and then – most importantly – implement policies that will combat it. Here are our findings.

Challenge: Racial bias happens frequently at every stage of the shopping experience in stores and online.

Our plan: Thoroughly identify the prevalence, nuances, and impact of racial bias in retail experiences—including ours. It’s important our team understands bias ranges from a store or staff member feeling unwelcoming to blatant racial profiling and false accusations.

Challenge: Individual interactions between retail employees and clients can be driven by racial bias and stereotypes. Said simply, some people are uncomfortable having conversations with people of another race.

Our plan: Hiring and training for the soft skills needed to provide an equitable experience. Tomorrow, we’re hosting a mandatory training for all our employees to learn how to – and reaffirm their commitment to – provide an anti-racist and inclusive experience at Sephora. This is not the first of these trainings and it won’t be the last.

Challenge: Retailer policies may allow individual employees to use their own discretion when interacting with a client—like accepting returns as they see fit or offering special promotions they think are relevant to a client—which can lead to biased treatment.

Our plan: Studying and rewriting our policies that may contribute to a racially biased shopping experience for BIPOC clients.

Challenge: Clients who encounter racial bias have many coping mechanisms, the most common being leaving the store. When these experiences go undetected, retailers lose valuable client feedback about their retail experience that can be used to prevent ongoing, unjust treatment in the future.

Our plan: Improving how we monitor and detect negative experiences; training our employees to identify bias and provide feedback to management; and updating our client service protocols to better equip our teams to offer a welcoming experience for all clients and handle escalations in a more understanding manner.

Racial bias runs wide and deep in the retail industry and we know it’s an issue clients have faced at Sephora. We are committed to making changes across every part of our business. As we continue this study, we will examine our findings, make improvements for BIPOC clients, learn from our clients – including you – and share our progress.