Dec 17

Written by: IRI Blog
12/17/2009 9:56 AM

The beauty industry is a very unique CPG market segment defined by a particular set of products and a special group of shoppers with different needs from other CPG categories. Because these are the most personal of CPG products, there is an overlay of emotion that shapes the definition of value. IRI recently concluded an in-depth investigation into beauty shoppers’ changing attitudes and purchasing behaviors.  One of the key findings was that brand identity is the most important factor when making purchase decisions. A total of 92 percent of consumers reported their focus on brand, nearly 20 percent higher than the total CPG benchmark of 73 percent.  

Pricing is the second most important factor affecting consumer buying decisions, reflecting the complexity of beauty shoppers’ decision process.  Our research shows that brand identity is incredibly important to shoppers’ perceptions of what they want to buy – they think about what brand they want before they leave their homes to go shopping.  But, in the store, pricing is the one characteristic that can sway a purchase.

Given this knowledge, beauty retailers and manufacturers need to reach their customers in the home through a well rounded 360 degree marketing campaign, and they also need to provide competitive pricing in order to keep their attention once they reach the store.

Another key finding of interest is the identification of the “heavy” beauty shopper, which consists of a group of shoppers that represent 11 percent of American homes, but account for 40 percent of beauty product sales.  These “heavy” shoppers are critical to any beauty retailer’s success and display strong category involvement, indexing higher on making regular trips to the beauty salon and expressing a need for beauty products designed for an active lifestyle or time spent outdoors.  This group is more likely to visit specialty stores, make purchases online and buy from TV infomercials.  Heavy shoppers are especially likely to try new beauty products.

Despite showing a strong desire for beauty products, heavy shoppers are also influenced by the economy and indexed higher in making products last longer, purchasing more multi-function products and sharing products within the household.  They have changed their rituals in the last year by buying more in bulk and buying smaller quantities of their favorite products.   

So, what can retailers do to engage their heavy shoppers and bring in new shoppers?

IRI thinks a strong focus on brand, pricing and micro segmentation is the key, as well as a diverse channel mix since many consumers are visiting multiple outlets to find the beauty products they need.  Additionally, marketers should focus on promoting beauty in conjunction with health and wellness themes to address consumer desire to tend to beauty and health given their perception that a healthy body is a beautiful one.

If you’d like to learn more about IRI’s most recent beauty report and take a deeper look in to the profile of the heavy shopper feel free to leave a comment below.

Best,
John Deputato

Tags: