From retail to destination - how MECCA is redefining customer experience
Inspired by Marita Burke - MECCA Chief Creative Officer, presentation at the Destination Australia 2026 conference.
When MECCA appeared on the Destination Australia 2026 program, it raised a compelling question: what can a premium beauty retailer teach the tourism industry about customer experience and destination strategy?
I am an avid purchaser of MECCA (hello, beauty loop rewards program), and of course it’s an institution in retail and beauty as an Australian-made private business. I’m proud to say I got my hands on exclusive Rhode products within the first week of its launch in Australia. And yes, the glazing milk is as amazing as people say.
So, what does MECCA and retail have in common with tourism? What can MECCA teach tourism operators about customer service and experience?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
Both retail and tourism are customer servicing sectors. Both are driven by choice, competing for attention and relevance in a constantly evolving landscape and market. Both depend on delivering memorable customer experiences and giving people a reason to show up and spend.
In a landscape where destinations compete for attention, time and spend, the challenge is no longer just to attract visitors, but to create experiences people actively choose. MECCA’s approach offers a powerful reminder that destinations are not defined by place alone, but by how they make people feel.
Creating a universe
The MECCA experience for customers is not too different to a traditional tourism business. There’s a welcome, experience, transaction (in most cases) and farewell. Success is led by ratings and reviews, feedback and referrals.
MECCA has created something unique to beauty retail. They have created a space for makeup enthusiasts or beginners of all ages to come, to meet, to learn, to test and to leave with a feeling.
Concepts have been developed for customers to have experiences within the shop floor, attend workshops, test and use products and meet the experts.
Sound familiar?
Experiences are no longer transactional, they’re emotional and meaningful. It’s something that is created which is authentic and only offered within the place itself.
When questions remain about the relevance of bricks and mortar within the rise of e-commerce and the digital age. The importance of an omnichannel approach is crucial.
In creating something meaningful, MECCA becomes more than a shop. It becomes a universe. It becomes a destination.
A proof point is in the fact that customers intentionally make the decision to go into a store where possible to buy their products in store rather than online.
Customer service is built into the DNA
The Customer service strategy for MECCA is simple. Put the customer in control. Think value adds versus value off, customer service over discounts.
MECCA stores create a destination for experiences where customers are generally never left searching for staff or service. There are welcomers on the door, skin care specialists, makeup specialists throughout a store. This model is deliberate.
The customer service strategy becomes the DNA for the business and allows customers to engage the senses. Smell the perfume, test and sample the products, see how to apply your skin care, with MECCA the first to bring shop floor lessons and tutorials within the store.
A key piece to this customer service is built around people and team in delivering the MECCA magic. With more than 7,400 staff members across over 100 stores in Australia and New Zealand, a focus has been on educating and training staff across products and services, getting expert masterclass training (for example, Charlotte Tilbury) and over investing in their team to develop well-rounded confident staff. This includes training for leadership capability and financial literacy.
MECCA aims to make their customers feel safe. If the focus is purely driven on sales and KPIs it will ruin a customer experience. Instead, by relying on customer service and experience the sales naturally are more likely to come.
The flagship - the Mecca of Melbourne
It was their biggest and riskiest move yet. Opening in late 2025, the three-story flagship Bourke Street store captivated media attention and national interest. Media attention and reach spoke more about the beauty experience for customers, less about the opening of a new store.
Inside MECCA Bourke Street there are over 80 services including makeup, hair and nail salons, an in-house naturopath, brow and lash services, a private Beauty Atelier, a high-tech skin clinic, a newsroom, a gifting mezzanine, a fragrance Scentsorium, a florist, an apothecary, jewellery, engraving, piercing services… and so much more in-store.
It has been designed for every customer at every age and interest in beauty and wellness. There are 300 staff daily to support and serve customers.
The flagship store saw more than 20,000 visits in the first day it opened, with queues lining up from 4 am and trams stopping, and over 80,000 visits in the first week. They see up to 70,000 visits weekly, attracting more visitors than the MCG or NGV. The store has become a must see and visit for people coming to Melbourne, a cultural mecca.
Following the Conference, I anticipate there were many more visitors from a 600-strong contingent also so inspired to see it for themselves. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to visit for myself but will have it on the top of my list for my next Melbourne trip.
They hit the triple bullseye - benefit for brands, benefit for people (customers and staff) and benefit for MECCA.
So what does the MECCA story tell us about tourism and customer experiences?
It reinforces that destinations and tourism businesses are not built through infrastructure alone, but through intentional experience design. MECCA succeeds because it creates a reason to visit, not just a place to transact. It invests in people, empowers customers, and designs environments that engage the senses and invite participation. In doing so, it transforms a retail footprint into a destination people actively seek out.
For tourism operators and destination leaders, the implications are clear. Creating relevance requires bold thinking, a willingness to take risks, and a relentless focus on the end-to-end experience. Customer service cannot be an add-on, it must be embedded in the DNA. Experiences must move beyond functional to emotional, giving people a reason to choose, return and advocate.
In a competitive and rapidly evolving visitor economy, the challenge is not just to be available, but to be desirable. Because ultimately, the destinations that thrive will be those that are crafted, not assumed.
To frame their product and creative planning, MECCA look to the following statement ‘Only the paranoid survive’.
Take the risks. Be bold. Craft your experience. Nail your customer service. Survive.
Image credit: Hugh Davies.