Orbis debuts its first self-serve sample bar at a relocated Lucua Osaka store
Orbis relocated its Lucua Osaka counter and used the reopening to launch its first self-serve sample bar, letting shoppers pick their own skincare samples instead of a staff member choosing for them.
Orbis relocated its store within Lucua Osaka and reopened on August 28 at a new spot on the basement floor, debuting the brand's first self-service sample fixture in the process, according to the skincare retailer.
The reopened store, on Lucua Osaka's B1F, introduces what Orbis calls its first "Sample Stand" — a fixture that lets registered app members pick up to three samples themselves from a rotating selection of skincare lines, serums and UV products, rather than being handed one by staff. Orbis said the assortment on offer will change seasonally.
To mark the move, the store is also selling two store-exclusive lotion bottles — refill packs for its "Orbis You" and "Orbis You Dot" essence lotions, priced at ¥2,970 and ¥3,630 — that Orbis says are sold in limited quantities, are not available by mail order and cannot be transferred to other stores.
The change is a small one, but it points at where a heavily staffed category like skincare is headed: self-selection at the sample stage cuts a step out of what has long been a staff-led ritual, while the store keeps its staff — and its footprint in one of Umeda's busiest malls — for the harder job of closing a sale.