Beauty brands, along with the entire beauty industry, faced abrupt and immediate changes with the onset of COVID-19 related lockdowns. Store and office closures, the elimination of product samples and testers, masks covering lips and smiles, and more converged to drastically reshape the landscape. These challenges are brought to life by consumers and beauty executives in sentiments such as the following:
“We became a 100% eCommerce business and so we needed to think about it differently and lean more heavily into digital and social, and we needed to think about cost containment.” – Shelley Haus, Chief Marketing Officer, Ulta
“I was getting so frustrated with getting lipstick on the inside of my masks, and then I realized, ‘Why am I even wearing lipstick? No one can see my mouth!’ LOL.” – Consumer Quote from Instagram
Where there are hurdles and obstacles, there is also opportunity. Beauty brands recognize the current value of accelerating innovation and looking for new ways to meet consumer needs. One way that companies are addressing the shifting landscape is by focusing on individuals’ skin and eyes to give them camera-ready confidence for video conferencing.
In response to the pushback (or full-blown ban in some cases) on using product samples and testers, brands are helping consumers meet their beauty needs with digital and augmented reality apps that offer “try-on” technology. In 2018, L’Oréal acquired ModiFace, a global market leader in augmented reality and artificial intelligence for the beauty industry. L’Oréal continues to innovate and expand the technology to engage consumers in multiple ways, including virtual makeup and hair color try-on and augmented reality shopping. Beauty brands are also leveraging algorithms to analyze skin care needs and personalize products that simplify decision making and routines for consumers.
This summer, Sephora extended its reach and offered consumers an easy path to purchasing its products with the launch of a digital storefront on Instagram. The brand’s 20 million followers on the platform now have access to new and beloved items via Instagram Checkout, which enables Sephora to engage with their customers and attract new beauty enthusiasts.
We recently shared how brands across categories are shifting strategies to prioritize health and wellness, and beauty is no exception. As cleanliness has become currency and consumers seek convenience and multidimensional ways to build their immune systems, beauty brands can meet consumers where they are today by developing products that support hygiene or contribute to building immunity from disease. One execution that stands out is Italian soap maker Nesti Dante’s new Immunity Line of products, which includes a sanitizing hand gel and “hygienizing soap.” Another is Well Spray from Beauty Chef — a probiotic mouth spray with superfoods and medicinal herbs to nourish skin, digestion, and wellbeing.
Get in touch with The Garage Group if your team is facing similar challenges or you’re interested in digging deeper into these trends.
We’ve spent the last decade helping BigCos in various categories, including beauty, apply startup-inspired approaches against their toughest innovation and growth challenges. We’d love to have a conversation about your current goals and priorities, and share more about how we can help.
