ICYMI: CEW State of the Beauty Industry
CEW’s State of the Beauty Industry was a pretty insightful afternoon, looking at the beauty industry’s pulse and painting a picture for the year ahead. In 2021, the industry grew and adapted as the needs of consumers and their definition of beauty expanded, and as we enter 2022 there are endless opportunities for brands. Here are four takeaways from this year’s event:
1. Gen Z Will Disrupt the Industry
Gen Z consumers are less interested in conforming to traditional beauty standards and are challenging “beauty for all” claims. They are a generation defined by being unapologetically themselves and expect social responsibility from brands. Gen Z places a lot of importance on diversity, and this is manifesting in new frontiers for these consumers. Not only are they expecting expanded shade ranges for beauty products, but they are asking brands to reconsider price points for financial inclusivity, and to create products with an anti-ableist design.
2. Brands Need to Go Beyond “Eco-Friendly”
Consumers of all ages around the globe are looking to do their part for the environment. This shift in mindset represents a demand in the market for companies to do more and help move the needle on big issues like climate change. Consumers are looking to brands to demonstrate their commitment with tangible impact now, through innovations in product formulation development and product design, sharing their indices and rating tools for transparency, and broadcasting their goals and their progress. We can expect that consumers will gravitate toward forward-thinking, transparent, and authentic brands.
3. The Year of the Derm
Over the last few years, skincare has been on a rollercoaster. In 2019, consumers were building expansive skincare routines packed full of ingredients, but during the pandemic, they began shifting to more minimalist routines. Now, in 2022, consumers are calling on dermatologists for their recommendations in all categories. Search engine data shows that consumers are searching for everything from dermatologist recommended face washes to shampoos for hair loss. Consumers have also started to take more of an interest in SPFs. With product innovations and multipurpose products, consumers are protecting their skin, and we imagine that dermatologists are thrilled.
4. Cross Shopping Shifts
To no surprise, Target’s partnership with Ulta and Kohl’s partnership with Sephora has caused a blurring of the lines between prestige and mass beauty. Consumers shopping for beauty products now have more at their fingertips for discovery and may be tempted to treat themselves to prestige products. Data shows that there was a 3% increase of non-prestige beauty buyers purchasing prestige brands, which comes out to about 4.7 million more consumers. Cross shopping is pretty powerful, and we imagine it’ll be here to stay.
If your beauty brand is looking to reach targeted audiences or make an impact with new product innovations or formulas, Brandshare’s Connected Sampling™ solutions with guaranteed carting are the ideal way to deliver a custom brand experience in this evolving industry.
Sources: Sparks & Honey, Mintel, Spate, and NPD