29 Dec …The FUTURE! (part one) You look BEAUTIFUL!

Okay, so all of us that have been in therapy know that looking back is important for looking forward, right? But, we must say, we have had enough of the re-hashing of 2020. We all know and knew what it looked like. And to go at it again is just… reductive. With that in mind, let’s look at 2021 and look at what might be on the horizon without the usual “new normal” stuff. We will do this in a few posts, as the future is… well… VAST (dare we say bright…). Each industry chosen will spotlight innovation and change -and how it is being leveraged by each.

Part One: Beauty. A $500b market. A 50% drop in foot traffic and a difficult time sampling (which is at the core of this category) here are a few peeks on new trends in consumer desire.

Evolution of Experiential and Customization:

Global giant Ulta has signed a deal with Target to launch mini-stores in 100 Targets Q3/Q4 (HERE). These Ulta “soft shops” will be located in Target’s beauty section and will come equipped with Ulta’s beauty consultants. They will bring customers through all the offerings of hair, makeup and skin-care lines. Likewise, Sephora with partner Kohl’s will have 200 pop-up stores in the fall of ’21 with a staff of experts as well (HERE).

Both Target and Kohl’s have promised to better feature beauty on their websites -and let’s not forget the importance of social media and social sharing, which they are also taking on. CVS will continue their BeautyIRL in-store experience and changing over their store designs to meet ever changing consumer needs (HERE).

Back in September Sephora launched two new checkouts: Instacart and pickup in store. On the Sephora website, consumers can reserve products (to be held for 48 hrs) and pick up in store and will only be charged when the product is picked up (HERE) and (HERE).

Products Sample and Testing:

Not really clear when this can be a reality again, but for Shen Beauty (a Brooklyn-based retailer) customers can receive a Shen Beauty Painter’s Palette for personal testing through in-store, which eliminates  shared testers but allows for trial (HERE).

Google Shopping partnered with ModiFace and Perfect Corp to launch a tool that lets customers see what products will look like on them, with the aid of a front facing camera. Everything from lipstick to eyeshadow can be viewed (HERE).

DIY continues to be the new OMG

Already seeing a huge spike in sales, companies like Madison and Reed have really brought the “At home color” experience to a new level. And in ’21, this will continue to rise, as more and more of us realize that you need to be “ZOOM ready” according to Patrick Varni, CMO of Dermastore. Lower cost items like nails for example took a sharp rise in all that comes with it. Items like nail clippers, polish, soaks, facial masks all have rapidly increased and that is going to continue. All at a conservative price point. Hey, if all goes wrong, we can always just turn the camera OFF.

-And of course Consumer Education is key

With all these new trends and new consumer taking-charge of their own respective beauty regimes, there is a need for new paths of consumer education. From blogs/vlogs consumers are not just looking for tips. But for HOW products work and that they DO indeed work (HERE).

Last is Natural and Organic. Not growth, but beauty products that either give back, or are made with natural, traceable ingredients (HERE) and GROWTH estimated at $54.5b by ’27 (HERE).

Now I will turn off my ZOOM camera. And BTW you look marvelous! 🙂