October 15, 2010
Consumers see beauty goods as necessary to maintaining their lifestyle and show willingness to shell out extra money for products offered by high-end brands, according to About.com.
About.com found that 80 percent of consumers plan to spend as much or more this year on skin, hair, male grooming, teeth whitening and cosmetic products. Furthermore, these consumers prefer well-established brands over generic alternatives.
“Luxury brands looking to market beauty products to consumers online may want to consider reaching intent-driven users who are actively seeking beauty content,” said Evan Minskoff, vice president of marketing at About Group, New York.
“We’re seeing that intent-driven consumers are willing to pay higher prices for quality brand products, if those products satisfy the specific beauty needs the consumer is looking to meet,” he said.
“This suggests luxury brands can enhance audience engagement through content that deepens the relevance of their products to those core beauty goals consumers are searching online to address.
The New York Times Co. owns About.com.
Beautiful buyers
Consumers view beauty products as especially important to their lives.
55 percent of consumers surveyed by About.com reported that beauty products made them feel more confident, while 70 percent said looking their best would make them more successful.
Additionally, 75 percent of consumers reported emotional benefits of feeling confident about their appearance.
Therefore, consumers are willing to open their wallets and dole out extra cash to purchase the beauty products that are central to maintaining their desired outward presentation.
Additionally, when looking for beauty products, consumers prefer known quantities.
73 percent prefer established brands over generic ones for cosmetics, while 72 percent give brands the edge of skin care products and 67 percent favor hair care products from trusted companies.
Luxury beauty brands can appeal to loyalists if they place marketing emphasis on their brand name alone, according to Mr. Minskoff.
However, by focusing on the beauty benefits of their goods and the science underlying the products’ value, these brands can move beyond loyalists and achieve incremental increases in consumer brand interactions.
Consumers like beauty product ads that present the product benefits in an informative, intelligent way and stress quality more than price.
Finally, About.com found that consumers prefer ads that appeal to their confidence rather than their insecurity.
“Luxury brands can engage with intent-driven consumers, by reaching them in an environment that allows them to become part of the consumers beauty solution process, when they are actively seeking it,” Mr. Minskoff said.
Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro is editorial assistant at Luxury Daily, New York
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