WorldExecutivesDigest.com | 5 Ways Ecommerce has Shaped the Beauty Industry | Ecommerce has changed the market space, including the beauty industry. Instead of the typical top-down approach where major beauty brands determine trends for the buying public, social media has created a more bottom-up marketing paradigm. The consumer market now determines trends.
This shift has rocked even major legacy brands to adjust their marketing strategies, since this bottom-up marketing trend has opened up the beauty industry landscape, leveling the playing field for both established brands and newbie company start-ups.
With trends pointing in the growth direction, it’s safe to say that ecommerce is here to stay and continue shaping the beauty industry. If you’re planning to start an online shop, you should try Asian Beauty Wholesale website.
Here are the top five ways ecommerce has changed the beauty industry:
1. Social Media
Social media has been the main driving force in re-shaping the beauty industry from traditional in-store purchases to making people buy beauty products online. How could an industry that relies on tactile interactions, such as testing makeup shades, integrate into the digital market space? The answer: social media. Social media makes it possible to convince buyers in different regions or countries to purchase a product that they haven’t personally seen, touched, or tested yet.
Through savvy and innovative photography, creative video content, attention-grabbing captions, and relatable, down-to-earth product reviews, social media does a stellar job garnering potential buyer interest. The increased interaction and leveraging power provided by social media to users, customers, and potential buyers have changed the marketing atmosphere, enabling buyers to maximize buyer choice and control.
2. Innovative Online Purchasing Methods
Social media platforms have been integrating ecommerce features into their services, such as Pinterest’s shoppable pins and Instagram’s in-app checkout, which enable users to purchase products they see on their social media accounts quickly. You won’t need to log-out and leave the app to buy the product. Such innovative features save you time and effort searching for a product through search engines and more extended checkouts.
3. User-Generated Content (UGC)
Personal product reviews and recommendations have taken up a considerable advertising chunk in the beauty industry, alongside traditional advertisement by professional models and celebrities. There’s something about ordinary people posting personal product reviews in real-life situations that attract potential buyers: relatability.
These personal recommendations are relatable and are more transparent and less ‘advertise-y’ than professional paid endorsements. There’s less motivation for endorsing a product, other than one’s personal experience of it. Potential buyers feel more open to buying a product from an honest, personal product review based on experience by someone they know or can relate to because they have similar concerns and circumstances.
4. Online Retailers
Online retailers are department stores made online. Online retailers like Amazon and eBay have been key players in the overall ecommerce industry and have penetrated the beauty industry. It comes as no surprise that ecommerce would integrate into the beauty industry, as beauty brands have found it profitable to partner up and open online stores with online retailers.
Online retailers make it easy for customers to compare various brands, product reviews, and look out for discount deals and choose shipping options all in one place. Moreover, because of search engine optimization (SEO), the first thing that usually comes up when buyers search for a product leads them to an online retailer, hence the lion’s share in the online market. Beauty brands would do well by using this feature to boost sales.
5. COVID-19 Effect
Due to forced social distancing, stay-at-home mandates, and the whole economic downturn, the COVID-19 pandemic has created increased online shopping, and screen time has taken a vast upsurge. This unusual economic atmosphere may prove to be a boon for ecommerce, since more people, even those who aren’t typically interested in online shopping, are now looking into ecommerce.
A trend called the ‘lipstick effect’ happened during economic downturns from 1973-2001. A spike in cosmetics sales was observed during these economic recessions. People cope with financial distress by splurging on small indulgence like beauty products to make themselves feel good. This COVID-19 pandemic has created a similar effect of an upsurge in beauty products. But unlike the ‘lipstick effect,’ the ‘COVID-19 effect’ has made an increase in skincare products instead of cosmetics, as mandatory lockdowns have lessened social outings requiring cosmetics and caused people to focus more on skincare regimens instead of makeup.
Conclusion
The rise of social media, innovative in-app purchasing options, the popularity of beauty influencers and personalized product reviews, and online retailers have enabled ecommerce to integrate with the beauty industry successfully.
