Last week, we headed to an informative event with trend forecasters Mintel, as they collaborated with Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) to deep dive into 2024 British Beauty buying trends. Here are our top 10 key takeaways.
- Despite the cost-of-living crisis dominating headlines, Mintel’s data showed positive consumer habits, showing that most consumers actually feel confident still being to spend on luxuries at the end of the month, with 63% of women saying self-care reduces stress and improves mood.
- Self-investment was a recurring theme, as opposed to self enhancement, showing consumers are looking to invest in themselves as opposed to short term quick fixes. Once they have invested, they want to see a return on investment, so will look to find products that help elevate and streamline their products.
- Some of the most popular products on the market at the moment are the ones focussing on the here and now, offering prevention as opposed to a solution. Products with buzz words such as ‘Prehab’ ‘Prejuvenate’ and ‘Pro Aging’ are all ticking the boxes for consumers, as they focus on prevention, and not demonise inevitable ageing.
- Mintel was also able to confidently support the statement that consumers are willing to invest more in their skincare, with Premium lines for skincare brands up 66% as opposed to 56% the previous year.
- 63% of women will always shop for the next best thing, so customer loyalty isn’t as common, so finding ways to keep recurring customers is the goal. Things like loyalty schemes keep 51% of consumers, but ultimately, what they really want are long lasting results, high quality products, personalisation and expertly backed lines.
- One of the most interesting takeaways that we found was about in store shopping experiences. Despite being an online generation, Gen Z are more fluid and engaged by in store shopping due to environment, the ability to try texture and to take advantage of expert advice. Millennials are more inclined to stay shopping online.
- In terms of instore experience, trends showed that music, lighting, scent and even temperature can have a big impact on consumer spend. Creating a luxury environment can keep customers there longer, and therefore spending more. Space NK was on the panel discussing how all of these elements have been thought about in its new pop up stores nationwide, and how using user generated content instead of models allows customers to trust a brand more.
- We also found it interesting to hear that consumers are interested in shopping by product, rather than by brand. With people wanting to shop around and find the next best thing, having all moisturisers or hair care in one area allows them to effectively compare and experiment.
- Customers are savvy with trending ingredients, but don’t necessarily know if that’s what they need individually for their skin type. This means some people are buying skincare because it’s trending as opposed to what they need. They appreciate consultancy and expert advice on these matters to ensure their products are working.
- One thing that Mintel did highlight was that whilst consumers say they want more sustainable options in the beauty space, their shopping habits actually show that they’d rather go for the easier option over a refill scheme for example, so whilst eco credentials are good, its not going to interest customers unless it is easy!
We hope these insights have been just as interesting for you as they were for us! Let us know if you’d like us to help elevate any messaging of your brand.