La beauté, c’est le business.

Cosmetics are often considered a “low-involvement” product, meaning customers often spend little effort choosing between different products. In an age of cosmetic conglomerates rapidly reverse-engineering products, companies are finding that an emotional connection can be an effective way to build brand loyalty.  Loyalty is important because it can lower customer acquisition costs, which can be high in the beauty market.

We conducted ethnography with women aged 18-22 for a major global cosmetics company.

We shadowed women who used cosmetics daily and spent a considerable amount of money per week on cosmetics in order to understand their daily routines, shopping habits, and customer needs regarding cosmetics. The findings were fascinating and indicated that women mostly used cosmetics to satisfy functional needs, such as concealing blemishes and oily skin.  But the research also found a large opportunity to capture the emotional benefits of the product, such as bonding with other women.

Make up was an art satisfying needs for control, fun, self-expression, and confidence

Beyond the functional uses for cosmetics, an emotional connection emerges when both functionality and a positive usage experience are satisfied.  Make-up is overwhelmingly intertwined with social dynamics. Friends are often “influencers.”  Marketers need to treat friends as important influencers in the purchasing process, just as a cereal company considers children as influencers in the purchasing decisions of their parents.  Even though cosmetic addicts may “cheat on” their favorite product in euphoric shopping experiences, they consistently come back to products with which they have emotional connections.

Opportunités pour les spécialistes du marketing beauté :

• Positionner le cosmétique comme un cosmétique « social », pour associer la marque à des associations positives de femmes entre amies
• L'intégration des aspects sociaux dans les communications peut aider à établir un lien émotionnel avec des produits cosmétiques à faible implication comme le mascara.
• Construire une intersection entre les émotions positives d'être avec des amis
• Créer une expérience sociale unique autour de produits tels que les fêtes et les liens entre filles

Apprenez-en davantage sur nos principales solutions d’études de marché sur la beauté.