Sephora: Major Conversion Boost and Major Visibility Gains Through ASO

Sephora’s app struggled to turn brand strength into downloads, so WebAppDev applied a data‑driven ASO strategy, using keyword analysis and A/B testing to refine store copy and visuals.

  • Retail
  • ASO
  • Paid Campaign
Client Overview
Client Name: VibeUp (personal wellness & mindfulness app)
Industry: Health & Wellness
Timeline & Budget: ~6 months, under $5K

Sephora is a global beauty retail powerhouse, operating both online and through thousands of stores across dozens of countries, offering cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and wellness products.

Their mobile app delivers a virtual shopping experience, allowing users to browse product tutorials, try-on makeup via augmented reality, shop directly, and build loyalty profiles.

Sephora consistently leads in digital innovation within beauty retail, combining ease of use, cutting-edge features (like Virtual Artist AR), personalization, and omnichannel integration.

Challenge
Strong Brand, Weak App Conversion

Despite Sephora’s powerful global reputation, the mobile app wasn’t converting store visitors into downloads as effectively as it could.

Visibility Gaps in Search

The app’s ranking in the Apple App Store and Google Play left room for improvement, meaning it wasn’t surfacing for many high-intent beauty and shopping searches.

Underused Store Listing Assets

Key elements, such as short descriptions and screenshots, weren’t optimized, which meant they missed the opportunity to effectively communicate Sephora’s unique features, including AR try-on and exclusive collections, to potential users.

Wireframing & Prototyping

We created low-fidelity wireframes to outline the app’s foundational structure, focusing on three main tabs: onboarding, personalized feed, and community.

Once the wireframes were refined, we turned them into clickable prototypes. These prototypes helped stakeholders understand the flow early on and validate whether the user experience aligned with their core mission.

Visual Design & Design System

For the visual identity, we went with a soft, calming aesthetic, neutral tones, rounded UI elements, and clean, friendly typography.

We also built a modular design system, ensuring layout consistency across the app and making it easier for the VibeUp team to scale or update in the future.

Core Features & Development
Core Features & Development

Subtle, thoughtful notifications prompted users to take short mental breaks, helping them slow down and check in with themselves.

Based on each user’s preferences, history, and goals, the app suggested practices, communities, courses, and events, making every experience feel hand-picked.

We used visual cues to help users celebrate their small wins, reinforcing consistency and promoting positivity without pressure.

Social features were intentionally kept lightweight, think simple check-ins, reactions, and event discovery, to foster connection without the noise or anxiety of mainstream social platforms.

We built a backend module for wellness creators and small businesses to promote their events/services directly to targeted users, a win-win for personalization and monetization.

Our Results
44.2%

Increase in conversion rate on Google Play

30%

Overall lift in conversion across store listing assets.

These gaps meant Sephora’s app store presence wasn’t living up to the strength of its brand.
Final Thoughts

With Wall Street Mobile App’s ASO methodology, Sephora transformed its store listing from a passive storefront into a powerful growth engine. By prioritizing data-driven messaging and refining store copy, they turned existing visibility into meaningful conversions and elevated their presence in app stores.

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