Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market overview
- Top takeaways
- Online activity is integral to the path to purchase
- A mix of informative and inspirational content will engage more consumers
- Beauty consumers want simple reassurances in order to increase online shopping
- Key trends
- Social media becomes a source of commerce
- Video gets prioritized in social strategies
- What it means/what’s next
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Online beauty has evolved past transacting
- Younger shoppers’ have differing preferences
Market Perspective
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- Category Evolution
Market Factors
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- Gen Z’s beauty interests will influence product development and shopping expectations
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- Figure 1: Population, by generation, 2024 projections
- Diversity of younger consumers leads to demand for broader beauty representation
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- Figure 2: Generations, by race and Hispanic origin, 2019
- Young men can help drive growth
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- Figure 3: Men aged 18 or older, by age, 2014-24
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Social media becomes a natural part of consumers’ shopping journey
- Endless space means room for overlooked consumers
- Virtual reality will be more than a perk
What’s Working
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- Social media as a destination for discovery and exploration, not just for consumers
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- Figure 4: Kohl’s Instagram post, November 2019
- Figure 5: Ulta Instagram post, November 2019
- Re-thinking consumer marketing in the digital age
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- Figure 6: Goop Instagram post, November 2019
- Making online beauty shopping personal
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- Figure 7: Prose Instagram post, October 2019
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- Figure 8: Atolla Instagram post, October 2019
What’s Struggling
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- Digital overload can turn off consumers
- Limitless digital space needs to make more room for diversity
What to Watch
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- Social media: the modern day window shopping
- Virtual reality will be necessary to appeal to multichannel beauty shoppers
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- The beauty purchase process mixes online and offline
- Consumers seek a mix of informative and inspirational content
- Visual nature of social media compensates for the void of in-person shopping
- Consumers want convenience of online but seek reassurance when buying without seeing
Online Beauty Consumers and Online Activity
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- Analyst Perspective
- Most consumers are navigating across channels
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- Figure 9: Online activity and types of online beauty consumers, October 2019
- Beauty consumers invest time in pre-purchase research
- Younger adults’ emphasis on beauty opens the door for more brand engagement
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- Figure 10: Types of online consumers, by age, October 2019
Types of Online Content
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- Analyst Perspective
- Curious beauty consumers crave content
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- Figure 11: Types of online content, October 2019
- Young women want to master their look, but need guidance doing so
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- Figure 12: Types of online content, by gender and age, October 2019
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- Figure 13: Ulta’s top creatives, November 2018
- Figure 14: Sephora top creative, July 2019
- Hispanic consumers’ interest in ingredients signals focus on holistic wellness
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- Figure 15: Types of online content, by Hispanic origin, October 2019
Activity by Item
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- Analyst Perspective
- Consumers seek validation from multiple sources
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- Figure 16: Activity by item, October 2019
- Women conduct more activity, regardless of item
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- Figure 17: Activity by item, by gender, October 2019
- Shoppers seek instructional content to maximize their purchase
- Sources of inspiration
Preferred Online Resources
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- Analyst Perspective
- YouTube is a preferred resource nearly as much as beauty websites
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- Figure 18: Preferred online resources - NET, October 2019
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- Figure 19: Ouai YouTube video, October 2019
- Figure 20: Ouai YouTube video, October 2019
- Brands see the worth investing in YouTube
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- Figure 21: Sephora site spend, October 2018-November 2019
- Figure 22: Ulta site share, October 2018-November 2019
- Older women turn to category experts
- Social media is a crucial resource for younger beauty shoppers
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- Figure 23: Preferred online resources, by age, October 2019
Social Media Use
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- Analyst Perspective
- Social media is the virtual version of window shopping
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- Figure 24: Social media use, by gender – October 2019
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- Figure 25: Everlane Instagram stories, September 2019
- Informative and instructional content adds value for young women
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- Figure 26: Social media use, by gender and age, October 2019
- Young men are shopping through social
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- Figure 27: Social media use, by gender and age, October 2019
Brand Awareness and Discovery
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- Analyst Perspective
- Consumers are paying attention to beauty ads online
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- Figure 28: Brand discovery, October 2019
- ColourPop products live up to their name
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- Figure 29: ColourPop Instagram post, November 2019
- Goop is sleek, chic and clean, just like its products
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- Figure 30: Goop logo
- Glossier pink has evolved beyond a catchphrase
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- Figure 31: Glossier Instagram post, August 2019
- Figure 32: Glossier Instagram post, July 2019
- A variety of marketing tools prove effective for engaging young men
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- Figure 33: Brand discovery, by gender and age, October 2019
- Influencers and peers are equally effective for promoting discovery to youngest beauty consumers
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- Figure 34: Brand discovery, by age, October 2019
Desired Improvements
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- Analyst Perspective
- Simple reassurances will encourage more shopping
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- Figure 35: Desired improvements, October 2019
- Gen Z wants VR and IRL
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- Figure 36: Bite Beauty Instagram post, August 2019
- Figure 37: Desired improvements, by age, October 2019
- Better product selection will drive more shopping among multicultural consumers
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- Figure 38: Desired improvements, by race and Hispanic origin, October 2019
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- Figure 39: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna YouTube video, January 2019
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
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