For a long time, brands could recover quietly from customer frustration. A poor in-store experience. A tone-deaf campaign. A loyalty mechanic customers didn’t love. A growing disconnect between brand perception and customer reality.
These moments still mattered. But they moved slower. Today, they move at the speed of social conversation, creator commentary, online reviews and algorithmic amplification.
And increasingly, AI systems are learning from those signals too. That’s why connected customer experience matters more than ever. Because customers no longer experience: brand, social, loyalty, service, content and customer care as separate things. They experience them as one connected ecosystem.
This is also a difficult article to write because, like many Australian women, I’ve genuinely admired what Mecca built over the years. The brand became a benchmark for customer experience, beauty discovery and emotional connection in retail. Which is exactly why some of the recent tension feels so noticeable. For a long time, Mecca was widely seen as one of Australia’s best customer and retail brands. Not just because of the brands it stocked. But because of the emotional connection it built with customers.
It felt aspirational, culturally aware, community-led, deeply customer obsessed. Which is why the recent backlash surrounding the brand feels so interesting. Not because of any one issue individually. But because of what they might collectively signal. Over the past year, Mecca has faced:
- criticism around the now infamous tote bag promotion
- backlash over influencer representation and perceived exclusion of women over 40
- frustration following the loss of major global beauty brands
- growing customer sensitivity around value during a cost-of-living crisis
- alongside questions around whether the in-store experience still reflects the customer intimacy the brand became famous for
None of these moments alone define the brand. But together, they point to something deeper. A growing perception that the business may be drifting further away from the customer voice that helped make it successful in the first place.
The Real Risk for Premium Brands
Premium brands rarely lose relevance overnight. It happens gradually. Usually through a series of small disconnects between:
- what the brand believes it represents and
- what customers are actually experiencing
That gap matters more than ever right now. Because in a market under financial pressure, customers become more emotionally selective. They reassess value, loyalty, trust, relevance. And importantly, they become far less tolerant of brands that feel disconnected from reality. The reality is, every growing brand risks losing proximity to its customers over time. The strongest brands recognise it early and course-correct quickly.
The Social Media Backlash Is Not the Problem
One of the biggest mistakes brands make is treating social backlash as the issue itself. Usually, it’s a signal. A visible symptom of a deeper tension already building underneath the surface. The commentary surrounding Mecca over recent months suggests customers are not simply reacting to campaigns. They are questioning:
- whether the brand still understands them
- who the brand is prioritising
- and whether the relationship still feels reciprocal
That’s a much bigger issue than a single PR moment. The smartest brands treat these moments as intelligence. Not inconvenience. In the past, brands could afford to stay distant from customer frustration. Today, they can’t. Because customers are no longer just having conversations privately. They’re having them publicly on TikTok,in comment sections, on Reddit, through creators and across social communities
And increasingly, those conversations shape perception faster than brand campaigns do. The brands winning right now are not necessarily the brands making the fewest mistakes. They’re the brands responding visibly, authentically and with emotional intelligence In many cases, customer loyalty is strengthened not by perfection, but by how brands handle moments of disappointment or frustration. And in an AI-driven world, these conversations matter even more. Because AI systems increasingly learn from sentiment, reviews, public discussion, trust signals and patterns of customer advocacy or dissatisfaction .Ignoring the conversation is no longer neutral. It becomes part of the brand story itself.
The Cost-of-Living Crisis Changes the Rules
During stronger economic periods, premium brands can often rely on aspiration to carry them. But when customers are under pressure, emotional value becomes critical. People start asking:
- Is this brand still worth it?
- Does it still align with me?
- Do I still feel seen by it?
- Does it understand the reality I’m living in?
This is where customer obsession becomes commercially important, not just culturally important. Because customers no longer separate brand experience, value perception, customer care and trust They experience them as one thing.
The Danger of Losing Customer Proximity
As brands grow, there’s a risk they begin listening more to internal strategy, influencer ecosystems trend cycles and brand perception than they do to customers themselves.
This is where businesses can slowly lose proximity to the people who built them. And often, the warning signs appear first in comment sections, creator conversations, Reddit threads, TikTok sentiment and community frustration Not in brand tracking reports six months later. The smartest brands treat these moments as intelligence. Not inconvenience.
Why Representation Matters More Than Ever
One of the more interesting tensions in the Mecca conversation was the response to influencer representation. Particularly the perception that women over 40 were being excluded from parts of the brand conversation. Whether intentional or not, the backlash highlighted something important. Customers want to see themselves reflected in the brands they support. Especially in categories tied closely to identity, confidence, self-expression and lifestyle
Women over 40 are not a niche beauty audience. They are one of the category’s most commercially valuable customer groups. Many have significant purchasing power, established beauty routines, strong brand loyalty and the confidence to spend on premium products and experiences Particularly in a premium retail environment like Mecca. Which is why the reaction felt so significant.
The backlash was not simply about influencer selection. It reflected a broader concern around visibility, relevance and whether long-standing customers still felt seen by the brand. The brands winning right now are not simply chasing youth culture. They’re building broader emotional relevance across different life stages and customer identities. That’s a very different strategy.
What I Would Be Doing If I Was Mecca Right Now
This is not a moment for generic brand repair. It’s a moment to fix the specific places where customer trust has started to fray. If I was leading Mecca right now, I’d focus on five things
1. Bring Service Back to the Centre of the Flagship Experience
The opening of the Melbourne flagship should have reinforced what made Mecca special. Instead, for many customers, it highlighted what may have been lost along the way. Scale. The challenge for premium retail brands is that bigger does not automatically feel better. For years, Mecca built loyalty through expertise, intimacy, discovery and personalised guidance
Customers didn’t just come to buy products. They came to feel helped. That’s very different. If customers are walking through one of the most impressive beauty retail spaces in Australia but struggling to find someone to help them navigate products, routines or decisions, then the experience starts becoming transactional instead of relational. I’d be redesigning the service model quickly. Not just adding more staff.
But rethinking guided discovery, beauty concierge moments, skincare consultation zones , roaming advisors, personalised appointments and “help me chose” experiences Because in premium beauty, service is part of the product. And if I was sitting in head office, I’d be insisting leadership teams spend time in-store during peak trading periods.
Not curated walkthroughs. Real customer moments on busy weekends and high-traffic days. Because that’s where the friction becomes visible. You quickly see:
- where customers are struggling to get help
- where staff are overwhelmed
- where discovery becomes frustrating instead of enjoyable
- and where the experience starts breaking down at scale
Some of the most valuable customer insight in retail still comes from simply standing on the shop floor and watching what customers experience in real time.
2. Enter the Social Conversation Instead of Watching It Happen
One of the biggest mistakes brands make is treating social backlash as something to monitor rather than something to engage with. But social platforms are now extensions of the customer experience.
If a customer was visibly unhappy in-store, no premium retailer would simply stand back and let frustration build publicly across the shop floor without stepping in to help. Yet many brands still approach social media that way. Watching the conversation happen around them instead of entering it. Handled well, these moments can strengthen loyalty. Because customers are often more interested in how a brand responds than whether a mistake happened in the first place. And in an AI-driven world, these conversations matter even more. Because sentiment: shapes perception, influences trust, impacts discoverability and increasingly becomes part of how brands are evaluated online. Ignoring the conversation is no longer neutral. It becomes part of the brand story itself.
3. Make Women Over 40 Feel Visible, Valued and Commercially Recognised
One of the more interesting tensions in the recent backlash was the response to influencer representation. Particularly the perception that women over 40 were being excluded from parts of the brand conversation. Whether intentional or not, the reaction highlighted something commercially important. Women over 40 are not a niche beauty audience. They are one of the category’s most valuable customer groups.
Many have: significant purchasing power, established beauty routines, strong brand loyalty and the confidence to spend on premium beauty experiences Particularly in a premium retail environment like Mecca. Which is why the backlash felt bigger than influencer selection alone. It reflected a broader concern around visibility, relevance and whether long-standing customers still felt seen by the brand.
If I was Mecca, I’d be addressing that quickly. Not performatively. But meaningfully through: creator partnerships, skincare education, events, CRM, loyalty experiences and product recommendation journeys Because the brands winning right now are not simply chasing youth culture. They’re building emotional relevance across different life stages and customer identities.
4. Use Loyalty and CRM to Increase Perceived Value Without Discounting
Mecca’s opportunity is not to become cheaper. It’s to become smarter. In a cost-of-living environment, customers become more conscious of value, even in premium categories. Competitors like Sephora and Adore Beauty are investing heavily in loyalty mechanics, rewards and customer recognition. Mecca doesn’t need to become a discount retailer to compete. But it does need to ensure customers continue feeling the emotional and experiential value exchange is worth the premium. This is where the brand has an enormous advantage.
Mecca already sits on one of the richest customer datasets in Australian retail. The opportunity now is to use that intelligence more effectively. Not through generic EDMs or mass launches. Through personalised relevance. For example:
- a long-standing skincare customer should receive highly tailored product rituals and replenishment journeys based on previous purchasing behaviour
- customers whose behaviour suggests reduced discretionary spending could receive curated beauty routines that protect the premium experience while acknowledging changing spending patterns
- fragrance customers could receive highly personalised recommendations based on scent preferences and purchasing history
- loyalty members should feel recognised through experiences, education and exclusivity, not just transactional rewards
This is where AI and modern decisioning platforms become incredibly powerful. Platforms like Pega now allow brands to move beyond static campaigns and broad segmentation into real-time customer understanding based on:
- behaviour
- timing
- loyalty signals
- engagement patterns
- and predicted intent
That changes CRM completely. It stops being a communication channel. And starts becoming a customer recognition engine.
5. Don’t Let Loyal Customers Walk Out the Door With Lost Brands
Mecca has done an impressive job continuing to bring exciting global brands into the market, including Rhode and Victoria Beckham Beauty. The issue is not whether newness still exists. It clearly does.
The opportunity is making sure loyal customers who lose products they genuinely love don’t quietly drift to competitors like Sephora in search of replacements. This is where customer intelligence becomes incredibly powerful. Take Hourglass as an example. For many customers, those products weren’t just makeup purchases. They were embedded in routines. Daily habits. Trusted products customers had often purchased repeatedly for years. If I was Mecca, I’d be treating the loss of a major brand like a proactive customer retention strategy, not simply a range change.
The business already has the data to understand:
- who those customers are
- what products they repurchased most frequently
- what categories they over-index in
- and what alternative products may suit their preferences
That creates an enormous opportunity for guided discovery. Not: “Here’s a new eyeliner.” But: “Based on the Hourglass products you loved, here are three alternatives our beauty team thinks you should try.”
That’s where AI and modern CRM systems become incredibly powerful. Because they allow brands to orchestrate highly personalised recommendation journeys at scale. And in beauty, where trust and emotional connection matter deeply, that can be the difference between retaining a customer and losing them to a competitor.
Then I’d Build the Future of Beauty Loyalty
Fixing the current tension is critical. But Mecca also has an opportunity many retailers would kill for. An incredibly rich customer ecosystem. This is where AI, loyalty and agentic marketing become incredibly interesting. Because beauty is one of the most emotionally personal retail categories that exists. Customers don’t just buy products. They buy confidence, identity, ritual, aspiration and self-expression Which means the opportunity for intelligent personalisation is enormous when done well.
The future of beauty marketing will not be built around mass campaigns. It will be built around predictive relevance, customer understanding, contextual timing and emotionally intelligent recommendation systems This is something I explored recently in my article on QSR and the future of convenience. The brands that win won’t simply react to customer behaviour faster. They’ll understand customers deeply enough to anticipate needs before the customer actively asks for them.
For Mecca, that could mean:
- replenishment reminders aligned to actual usage behaviour
- skincare recommendations evolving with life stage and skin concerns
- curated routines based on purchasing behaviour and budget patterns
- personalised product education journeys
- intelligent loyalty experiences based on emotional and behavioural signals, not just spend
This is where platforms like Pega and modern AI decisioning systems become incredibly powerful. Because they allow brands to move from static campaigns and broad segmentation into real-time customer understanding. And in premium beauty, where relevance and emotional connection matter deeply, that creates a very different competitive advantage. The brands that win the next era of retail will not simply know who their customers are. They’ll understand what matters to them in the moment they need it.
Final thought
What’s happening with Mecca is bigger than one campaign, one creator decision or one product launch. It’s a reminder that premium brands cannot afford to lose proximity to the customer. Not in-store. Not online. Not in loyalty ecosystems. And not in the conversations customers are already having publicly every day.
The brands that win the next decade will not simply have the best products. They’ll be the brands that make customers feel recognised, understood, guided and emotionally connected at scale Because in a world increasingly shaped by AI, recommendation engines and endless consumer choice, loyalty will not be won through volume. It will be won through relevance, trust and customer understanding. And the brands that listen hardest will ultimately build the strongest emotional advantage.
About the Author
Alicia Rieniets is the founder of CMO On Call, a fractional marketing consultancy helping organisations drive growth through aligned brand, customer and performance strategies. With over 20 years’ experience across brands including Ford, Bupa, Australia Post and UniSuper, Alicia is known for transforming marketing functions into commercially driven systems that deliver measurable results. She works closely with leadership teams to simplify complexity, unlock growth and build marketing that works.
